Anomaly
by lovinMaya
Summary: What happens when a Muggle girl gets a blood transfusion of Wizard blood? Set in next generation Hogwarts. Disclaimer: I do not own JKR's work or any of her characters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! This is going to be my second long story. My first is Forever Young, and I'll be writing both of these at the same time. They are in no way related and do not share a story arc. This is a story about a Muggle girl thrown into the Wizarding world after a tragic car accident. It'll be shorter than Forever Young and the chapters will be much shorter as well. I hope you all like it!

~Maya

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 1

**_People were screaming, she knew that. She couldn't see them, but she knew they were screaming. She was moving really, really fast. Or maybe she wasn't moving at all. Her head wasn't a part of her body, or maybe her body wasn't a part of her head. To be honest, she didn't really know anything at all. Except that people were screaming. High-pitched screams, low, commanding screams. It was giving her a headache. Or it would have given her a headache if her head was a part of her body. She didn't really know. So many screams._**

"We need a transfusion, NOW! She's type AB negative, so go get the best you can find. She doesn't have long." A doctor was shouting orders at everyone in the room. "Let's get the victim's name down—Melanie Daniels, age fifteen, height is five feet, three inches. Hair color is dark brown, eyes are blue, I _think_, and weight, just by looking at her I'd say about forty-five to fifty kilos. You've got it?"

The blonde nurse, scribbling frantically on her clipboard, nodded and walked away.

"Should we start the surgery, doc?" another nurse asked.

**_There was a lot of light and a lot of noise. Her mother was clutching her hand and screaming, and then she was gone. Torn away. That's when there was a lot of light, and that horrible screeching noise. She felt herself thrown from her seat…something in her side really hurt. She didn't know if she was screaming or not, but it really hurt._**

"Is she going to be okay?" a woman, with dark brown hair that was hanging out of a ponytail in wild strands, asked frantically.

The doctor nodded and smiled wearily. "Yes, Mrs. Daniels. Please rest, now. You'll see your daughter in a few moments."

Though she nodded to him, Mrs. Daniels didn't stop her pacing.

_**So many people in blue surrounded her. It was too dark, she decided. She'd like very much to know who these people were, and why they were poking her side, the side that hurt very much. Unfortunately, she couldn't see them because it was too dark. She missed that moment when there had been a lot of light. Then, suddenly, she screamed, and she didn't miss it at all.**_

"Darling!" her mother gasped, running into the room to clutch her daughter's hand. "Oh, darling, you're okay!"

"Mrs. Daniels, she will be fine now. The transfusion is over, and it was quite easy. She had some glass stuck in her wound, but it's gone now. She's been stitched up really well, so you've nothing to worry about."

The woman nodded breathlessly. "What about my husband?" She turned to the doctor, eyes wide with fear.

Sighing, the doctor responded, "We don't know."

_**Something was very strange. If she didn't know better, she'd say her blood was boiling. But she had nothing to be angry about, she realized. It didn't, however, seem as though her blood was boiling from anger. It seemed like it was literally boiling, bubbling like tomato sauce in a pot. She was probably only thinking this because she was craving her mother's spaghetti sauce. But no, she could hear the blood moving, almost whispering, changing. Her body felt different, newer and cleaner, and she felt like she was breathing better than she ever had in her life.**_

The doctor came into her room. "Mrs. Daniels?"

Still stroking her hand, her mother looked up. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. The head trauma was simply too severe. We lost him."

Mrs. Daniels screamed, but not at the doctor's news. Behind him, a glass diagram of the human body had exploded, leaving shards of glass all over the table and floor.

"Oh my goodness," the doctor cried. "How on Earth did that happen?"

But Mrs. Daniels was no longer paying attention. She was slumped in her chair, heaving with sobs. Tentatively, the doctor approached her.

"Mrs. Daniels," he said softly, "there are people who can and will help with this. We can give you references, if that would help you." He opened his mouth to list names, but stopped with a look of panic on his face. Gasping, the doctor clutched his throat, mouthing soundlessly. He fell to the floor, and yelled out loudly. With a look of relief, he cried, "Oh, thank God, my voice…"

The whole time, Melanie's hand had been twitching uncontrollably.

* * *

"Well, this is certainly an odd case," said Minerva McGonagall, pursing her lips at the messenger before her.

"Headmistress, ma'am, we just received notice of it in our records at the Ministry. We wouldn't have come to the school, but considering that it's a fifteen year old girl, we thought it more appropriate to bring her here rather than to the Ministry's custody," the Ministry official said, bowing his head.

"Of course, of course. What kind of a school would we be if we left a young girl to the government rather than a good, healthy education? You say she's fifteen?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"All right, well, we'll send a representative to speak to her family, explain the situation, and offer a position here," Professor McGonagall said as she waved him out of the room.

Nodding, the official turned away and walked out the door. Professor McGonagall sighed. "Albus," she murmured, speaking to the large portrait behind her. The man in the portrait smiled.

"Yes, Minerva?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"It looks like we'll have a new student at Hogwarts."

* * *

**A/N:** All right, so that's the beginning. I'll post another chapter soon. That one will also contain mostly introductory stuff, but after that I'll start in with the plot. I'm not really sure where I'm taking this, or where it's taking me, but I'm definitely open to suggestions!

~Maya


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here I have the second chapter of my new story! I hope you all like it, and followers please review and give me some suggestions! I'll be putting questions out there pretty often.

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 2

Walking briskly down Morrie Road, Mr. Evengle scratched his back again. He always found the fabric of Muggle clothing to be extremely irritating. No matter how many times he wore it to these meetings, Mr. Evengle could never get used to it. This Muggle street, he noticed, was quite different from most Muggle streets he had been to. Instead of seeing the well-groomed lawns and hearing no sound at all, there were a lot of people chatting outside, children playing, and the houses were colorful and interestingly shaped. Finally, he approached a small green house at the end of the street with a small sign with the name 'Daniels' painted on it.

A teenage girl opened the door. "Er, hello, sir, can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Melanie Daniels and a parental figure, please," said Mr. Evengle.

The girl bore a look of shock on her face. "Sorry? How do you know my name?"

"Oh, you're Melanie? Lovely to meet you. May I come in?" he asked, offering his hand.

She stared at it for a moment, nodded, and waved him in. "Mum!" she called. "There's a man here to see us, he's called…" Melanie looked at him, eyebrows raised.

Mr. Evengle cleared his throat. "Evengle," he said. "Robert Evengle."

"Robert Evengle!" she shouted.

After a moment, a woman wrapped in a shawl with straggly, brown hair and a dead look in her eyes came down the stairs. She smiled wearily at her daughter.

Melanie smiled back. "Hi, Mum. Sleep well?"

Mr. Evengle glanced at his watch; it was almost one o'clock in the afternoon.

Mrs. Daniels nodded. "Yes, thanks, love. Now, who is this?"

"Mrs. Daniels, I'm Mr. Robert Evengle. Feel free to call me by my first name. I have rather important information to discuss with you and your daughter. Perhaps it would be better if we sat down?" He gestured to the couch.

Giving him an odd look, Mrs. Daniels nodded and moved to sit. "Would you like something to eat or drink, Mr. Evengle?" she asked politely.

"No, thank you," he said. "This is a matter of utmost importance, and I suggest you keep your minds open. You may want to throw me out of the house, but please consider what I have to say."

Melanie's insides were gripped with fear. Who was he? What could it be?

"Melanie," he said directly to her. "Lately, have you ever felt you could do things that were out of the ordinary, and different? Perhaps when you were upset, or afraid, or angry?"

She gulped and nodded. Oh God. He had come to tell her she was a loony. He was a doctor taking her to a psycho ward. He was from a government-funded organization to come get loonies like her and train them to be assassins.

"Now, first, I must explain something to you both. You're going to need to remain calm." He waited, testing their reactions. "Millions of years ago, there were men and women who taught themselves basic witchcraft, and passed their learning to their children, and so on. As these people evolved, the witchcraft became a part of their system, a part of their blood. Magical blood slowly came into existence. Today, real wizards and witches coexist with non-magical people, living in their own world, concealing themselves so as not to attract attention or alarm anyone."

"So what you're saying," Melanie interrupted, "is that magic is real, and so are wizards and witches?"

Mr. Evengle sighed. "Yes, that's basically what I'm saying. Please don't be alarmed," he said, looking at both women. "Wizards are just like non-magical people, but with the ability to control magical elements."

Mrs. Daniels stared at him wide-eyed. "But…but…why? Why tell us this? Is something happening? Are you going to tell everyone?"

"No, no," said Mr. Evengle. "Don't panic, Mrs. Daniels. I'm telling only you this, because our records show that your daughter, Melanie, recently received a transfusion of Wizard blood."

Melanie froze. "Wh-what? That would make me a—"

"Witch, yes. The reason this is different is, well, this has never happened before. Most wizards don't generally donate blood, and even if they have there has never been a case like this. All wizards and witches until now have been born as such.

"So…Melanie has magical powers now?" Mrs. Daniels whispered.

"Not quite," said Mr. Evengle. Melanie's heart sank. She had started to grow quite excited. "You see," he continued, "all wizards and witches are required by law to attend a wizarding school or be homeschooled in order to control their magic. If they don't, it can go absolutely out of control. That's why I'm here. Because you live in England, you're under this Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction—"

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Melanie repeated skeptically.

Nodding, Mr. Evengle continued, "That means you'll be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, unless you choose to have an education out of the country. However, I do assure you that Hogwarts is the best school of witchcraft in the world."

There was a long pause. "Listen sir," said Melanie, "I don't know about this. I mean, how do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you're not some, like, crazy kidnapper and you're gonna take me for a ransom or something?"

Without a word, Mr. Evengle pulled a long, wooden stick out of his pocket and pointed it at a little photo frame on the side table. It levitated into the air, spun around three times, and set itself back down. The two women were left breathless.

"My God," Mrs. Daniels whispered. "You're saying Melanie can do that?"

"Not yet," replied Mr. Evengle. "But she will be able to once she has received proper education."

Melanie felt her insides clench violently. She would never be the same again. "Can I make it go away?" she asked. "Like, is it possible?"

"No, I'm afraid not, Melanie," said Mr. Evengle. "But I assure you, you won't want to for much longer. Magic is a wonderful and useful gift. You'll love it, really."

"So what happens at Hog-whatsit? What do I learn?"

"Well, you learn various magical subjects which will teach you how to control your magic."

"What if—what if I don't wanna go to a magic school?" Melanie asked desperately. "What if I wanna go to a regular school and learn English and Math and Science and all those things?"

"Unfortunately, that isn't going to be possible," he said, standing up. "Melanie, if you don't go to a Wizarding school, your magic will become a danger to you and your mother, and everyone else you know."

Melanie's face contorted. God knew she couldn't even consider inflicting harm on her mother after the accident. They were still healing; precious little time had passed. Silently, she nodded her consent. "Fine. I'll go to this Hoggy place."

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said. "I do have your letter of admission, and your supply list. It will be convenient for your education that it is the summertime, and you'll be able to start at the beginning of term, rather than the middle. However, it will be necessary for you to come in and take private tutoring so as to reach the level you should be at."

"Oh no," she breathed. "Please tell me I don't have to sit in class with five-year-olds!"

Mr. Evengle chuckled. "No, no, dear. You'll be with classmates your age, perhaps a year younger. And Wizarding school always begins at the age of eleven, not five. As you are fifteen, we hope you'll be placed in fifth year." He turned to Mrs. Daniels. "Are you in agreement with your daughter's decision?"

Mrs. Daniels turned to Melanie. "Are you sure, Melanie?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Very well," said Mr. Evengle as he approached the door. "By the end of the week we'll send someone to take you to get your school supplies and bring you to Hogwarts."

"Wait!" cried Melanie. "Can…can my mum come?" she asked hesitantly.

The man turned around, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Melanie. Hogwarts is a boarding school. You'll be staying on the grounds during the term. You may come home for vacations."

Melanie hesitated. "You'll have to give us time to think about it," she decided.

He nodded. "All right. You can tell the representative at the end of the week your decision."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll let myself out." And he did.

* * *

"Come now, Melanie, you heard what the man said. If you don't learn to control your magic, it'll go out of control!"

"But mum, I really can't just leave you alone!"

Melanie felt her argument was quite solid. Nothing was going to sway her, and her mother seemed to recognize that.

"Well, how about this?" She attempted to compromise. "I'll sell the house—"

"Mum!" she protested.

"I'll sell the house," Mrs. Daniels repeated, louder, "and I'll move closer to wherever this Hogwarts is. You'll have to stay on the campus but maybe you can visit on weekends or something." Her mother looked hopeful.

Melanie took a long pause. "Oh fine," she sighed, frustrated. "You win. I'll go."

Mrs. Daniels squealed and ran to hug her daughter tightly. "Oh, my baby is going to make such an amazing witch!" she whispered over and over.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you liked it! Questions: I've been thinking of what kind of story I should make this. In terms of plotline, my Forever Young has drama and adventure, but I don't know if I should make this have a deep and mysterious plotline or just a light and simple romantic comedy. What do you all think? Also, who thinks Mr. Evengle should become a major character? Personally, I kind of like him, but give me your thoughts!

~Maya


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Here's chapter 3! I do want this to be a shorter story, definitely not novel length, so I'm trying to go as fast as possible! Please keep on following! Thanks so much to the readers and followers and reviewers! You guys make my day every time!

~Maya

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 3

A week after agreeing to go to Hogwarts, Melanie was seriously beginning to regret her decision. Another man, Mr. Monroe, had come to her house two days after Mr. Evengle to give her more information about the school and the things she would need and where and when she needed to go. Mr. Monroe was nice enough, but Melanie found him a little too cold for her taste; he had a standoffish attitude that her mother did not take well at all. When Mr. Monroe mentioned that another wizard would come to take her to buy her school supplies, Melanie was quick to request that Mr. Evengle come then.

He came the next week, this time dressed in wizard robes and looking much more cheerful than he had last time.

"Come on, then, let's get a move on. We're only slightly behind schedule, but if we hurry we can catch the Knight Bus in a moment!" he called to Melanie and Mrs. Daniels behind him.

"Knight Bus?" Mrs. Daniels whispered, glancing at Melanie, who shrugged.

"And here we are!" he said, stopping suddenly on the sidewalk. Melanie almost crashed into him, and then shared a private scowl with her mother.

"Mr. Evengle?" she asked, slightly irritated. "What are we doing?"

"Anytime you need transportation," Mr. Evengle explained as he raised his arm, "you put your wand hand in the air and here comes—"

Out of nowhere, a bulky purple bus appeared on the street and came to a screeching halt.

"—the Knight Bus," he finished, satisfied.

"My goodness," said Mrs. Daniels.

A young, good-looking man with curly hair dressed in a purple uniform came out of the bus and stared all three of them down before smiling widely and saying, "Hello, and welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard! My name is Willy Stone, and I'll be your conductor today. May I help you aboard?"

"Yes, thank you, Willy," said Mr. Evengle, climbing up the stairs into the bus. Melanie and her mother followed suit. They both stared at the unconventional interior of the purple vehicle. Wooden chairs with no visible restraint lined the sides, four rows with aisles in between each one. About ten of these chairs were occupied, all by elderly folk in colorful robes. There were two other decks above them, but Melanie and Mrs. Daniels followed Mr. Evengle to the back of the first deck.

They settled into chairs and Mr. Evengle leaned over and said, "Hold on tight, it gets a little nauseating," and off it went. If she hadn't been doubled over begging herself not to throw her innards out of her mouth onto the floor, Melanie might have found it funny how much of an understatement that was.

When Mr. Evengle finally stood up as the bus came to a halt, Melanie nearly ran out of the door, not even bothering to shout a 'thank you' to the bus driver. He definitely did not deserve it.

"God, Evengle," she mumbled. "I am not forgiving you for that." The words came out slightly slurred due to her relief from being off the bus. She would've kissed the wonderful, unmoving ground had she not spotted a small civilization of cigarettes scattered right where she stood. Looking up, Melanie realized she was standing in front of a tiny, almost invisible pub with the words 'The Leaky Cauldron' painted above it.

"What are we doing here?" her mother asked bemusedly from behind her. Melanie turned to see her looking around the street, almost as if she didn't notice The Leaky Cauldron at all.

"Mrs. Daniels," said Mr. Evengle, "there's a pub here. It's actually right in front of you. Once we're at the doors you'll be able to see it better."

Melanie's jaw dropped. "You mean she can't see that pub, right there?"

"No, she can't. There are a few very mild protection spells on The Leaky Cauldron to prevent Muggles—non-magic people, that is—from becoming acquainted with it."

"But-but why?" Melanie spluttered. "It's a pub! Why do you magic people have to be so secretive about everything? Mum can't even come to my school, can she?! It's not fair!"

"Melanie," Mr. Evengle said quietly. "I understand you're upset by this, and it's all fairly new to you. Let's go inside and we can talk more about it." He led them into the pub ("Oh! My goodness, there's an actual little building here!" said Mrs. Daniels) and they settled into a little table by the fireplace.

"I've never been to this street before," Melanie blurted out. "But if I had, then I wouldn't have seen this place, would I?"

Hesitating, Mr. Evengle shook his head. "No, but there is a good reason for these precautions."

"Precautions?" she cried. "What do you mean by that? The non-magic people, the _Muggles_, aren't any threat to you all! Why do you act like they are?"

"Of course they are, Melanie!" he said. "Can you even imagine what would happen if all the Muggles found out about wizards existing? There would be full-on war. It's happened before, and you know what happened then. People accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake. A situation like that could easily happen again, or worse, with today's Muggle science and technology, they'd take us into their scientist laboratories and do all sorts of funny experiments on us! Can't you see that?"

Melanie opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out.

"Melanie, dear," said Mrs. Daniels softly. "Mr. Evengle is right, you know. It makes absolute sense to live in separate worlds like this. Though I do think it's unfair," she said, turning to Mr. Evengle, "that wizards are the ones who have to live in hiding, while we non-magical people get to walk around all in the open. I do hope we can find a way to coexist someday." She smiled encouragingly.

He smiled back, and continued, "So that's why the Statue of Secrecy was passed. That's why every magical establishment in a Muggle area has to have some magical protection over it, depending on how private it is. The Leaky Cauldron is not completely invisible, but it creates a sort of illusion of invisibility for the Muggles who come near it. It's only because the pub is for wizards and if a Muggle were to enter it, there would be no hiding."

Still slightly unconvinced, Melanie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Could've built it somewhere else," she mumbled to herself.

"Ah, but they couldn't." Suddenly, Mr. Evengle had a new twinkle in his eye. "Because, you see, The Leaky Cauldron is more than just a pub. It's a gate." He stood up abruptly and motioned for the two women to follow him into an alley behind the pub. It was cramped and narrow, with nothing but a brick wall facing them. Melanie found herself overcome with a sudden fear. What if this Mr. Evengle was lying about everything? What if he'd brought them here to kill them in this little alleyway? How could she have been so stupid, to believe such a thing like magic could exist? She was breathing erratically, sheer panic entering her system, and she was about to open her mouth to fumble some excuse when Mr. Evengle pulled out a stick of wood, his wand, and tapped the brick wall. Her mouth fell open and so did the wall.

"What…" Before them now was a long, winding road full of people dressed like Mr. Evengle, lined with shops of all shapes and sizes.

"This is Diagon Alley," said Mr. Evengle proudly. "This is where you'll be buying your school things, Melanie." She nodded absently, staring at her surroundings in awe.

"Ooh, this is just so cool," squealed Mrs. Daniels. She squeezed Melanie's arm and gave her a wide smile before hurrying down the road herself.

"Oh dear," said Mr. Evengle, his brow furrowing. "Let's…let's go on after her or she'll get lost or…or something."

* * *

After a few hours of shopping wildly, Melanie, Mr. Evengle, and Mrs. Daniels sat outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, which was now run by Fortescue's son, Harold, as he told them. He was round and bald, with large dimples in his cheeks appearing when he smiled, which was often. Melanie was struggling to eat her ice cream with one hand; the other was occupied by her wand. The moment she had bought it, she hadn't put it down.

"Twelve inches, unicorn hair and yew," the young lady had said. Ollivander's had been the creepiest place Melanie had ever set foot in. There were only two windows, and both had black curtains completely shut. The only light in the store had been from a few glowing orbs that floated around the room. The lady behind the counter had spoken in a soft, almost echoey voice that gave Melanie the chills, and her eyes were a pale green and seemed to look deep into your soul. To top it off, in the corner Melanie had spotted an old, unmoving man in an armchair.

Nevertheless, Melanie's excitement for her new wand could not be suppressed.

"I can't wait to do magic with it," she cried, twirling it around and squealing when little sparks erupted from it.

"Careful, there," called Harold Fortescue, giving her a dimpled smile.

"So, Evengle," Melanie began, "when do we go to Hogwarts? 'Cause, you know, my mum needs to get a house. Oh, did we tell you? We're moving out there, wherever it is, so that I can see Mum sometimes! We need to start looking for a place, though. See, we can't until we figure out where the school is, and you, all mysterious, won't tell, so—"

"Melanie, Melanie," cried Mr. Evengle. "Calm down. You're talking much too fast."

She grinned. "Sorry, Evengle."

"Actually," he continued, "we can go to Hogwarts tomorrow. We just need you to be packed and ready to go."

"Are you serious?" Melanie turned to her mother. "Mum, when are we gonna have time—"

"Melanie, dear," her mother interrupted, "don't you worry about me and the moving. I'll get it done, and I'm sure Mr. Evengle and the people at Hogwarts will help me find a house nearby." She looked at Mr. Evengle with her eyebrows raised.

He smiled and nodded. "Of course we will. We understand that this situation is very difficult for you practically, and it's been strange for us as well. We'll do everything to accommodate you, Mrs. Daniels."

Melanie grinned and sat back in her chair, leaning back slightly. "So," she mumbled with her mouth full of ice cream. "Can we go tonight?"

* * *

**A/N:** The next chapter will be up sooner than this one was, I promise! I think there'll be one or two more chapters after this before the school year starts! I still need an answer to the question: should this be just a light romance, or a full on adventure? Please and thank you!

~Maya


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Here is chapter four! I'm so sorry it took so long! I've been really busy but I have been getting plenty of writing done, so I'll be posting a lot and frequently for the next two or three months. For those of you following Anomaly, thanks a lot for sticking with it! I'm always open to suggestions or ideas!

~Maya

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter Four

Hogwarts was, there was no other way to put it, _amazing_. Melanie's eyes bugged out upon seeing the huge castle atop the black cliffs, and her jaw literally dropped when she entered through the giant stone doors. It was truly a vision at night, when she came, with all the candles burning brightly and the fires emitting a different, wonderful kind of warmth. Immediately, Melanie shed her heavy jacket.

"They're enchanted fires, you know," said Mr. Evengle, his eyes twinkling. "It gets especially cold up on these cliffs at night, so the fires are enchanted to burn warmer than regular fires."

"Why not just install a heating system?" asked Mrs. Daniels, perplexed.

With a tinkling laugh, Mr. Evengle replied, "Magic and electricity don't go hand-in-hand. There's too much magic in these lovely walls. It'll make the currents go all wonky."

"Did you see the castle, mum?" Melanie whispered excitedly.

Sadly, her mother shook her head. "It was a weird, run down building, with a bunch of "Danger" signs all around it."

"Oh yes," said Mr. Evengle, "Hogwarts, to the Muggle eye, is a ruin. Usually, the castle is completely surrounded by Muggle-repelling charms, but the headmistress ordered them to be lax tonight, for your mother to enter."

Just when he finished speaking, an old woman with a tight smile and a pointy, witch's hat approached them. Her black robes, lined with red and gold, billowed behind her as she walked toward them in a manner that Melanie would describe tersely as assertive.

"Hello," she said, offering her hand to Melanie. Taken aback by her voice, which was full of age and a touch of grief, Melanie stood unmoving.

"Melanie," reproached her mother in hushed tones. "I'm sorry," she said to the witch, shaking her hand in the place of her daughter. "Melanie is exhausted from the travel. It's quite the complicated trip up to this school, you know."

The woman nodded, extending her smile by the tiniest amount. "Yes. I am Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. We welcome you very warmly to our school, and I do hope you'll work hard this summer to catch up to your year."

Nodding, Melanie asked, "What sort of work do I need to do?"

"Oh, there's plenty." Minerva McGonagall turned on her heel and led them down the hall, and Melanie found it extremely difficult to pay attention to her words as the castle danced before her eyes. Some parts, paintings and statues, were literally dancing. After walking up several flights of moving stairs, dodging a couple of suits of armor playing 'tag,' and desperately trying not to hear one of the paintings shout wild obscenities, they approached a large stone gargoyle. The headmistress stopped her explanation for a brief moment to mutter, "Licorice Wand" at the gargoyle, which then jumped aside to reveal a staircase, and then she continued talking to Melanie's deaf ears.

"And," concluded the headmistress, coming to a stop before a large desk, and then wheeling around to face them, "our Transfiguration professor is unavailable during the summer, despite the number of times we have tried to contact her—" she pursed her lips—"so I will be teaching you basic Transfiguration."

"Er, yeah," bluffed Melanie. Whatever happened, she would just have to go along with it.

"Headmistress?" said Mrs. Daniels.

"I like to be called Professor."

"Professor," said Mrs. Daniels, smiling. "I don't know if you know, but I'm going to move to a nearby location so that I can see Melanie from time to time. Mr. Evengle is taking me to meet with someone from your, er, Ministry tomorrow. Until I manage to sell my house and buy a new one, though, I'll need to stay at Hogwarts."

"Yes?" prompted Professor McGonagall, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, I was just wondering…it is very late and we are both so exhausted…I don't mean to be rude but where and when can we sleep?"

"Well, before we settle anything, there's the matter of House," said Professor McGonagall. "Hogwarts does things by tradition, and as long as I am around that isn't going to change. Melanie will need to be Sorted into one of the four Houses. I trust Mr. Evengle has explained these to you?" She turned to Mr. Evengle, who reached for his collar and immediately averted his eyes from Professor McGonagall's gaze.

"Ahem," he began, looking fixedly at Melanie, "Hogwarts students are Sorted at the beginning of their first years into one of four Houses, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff."

Melanie couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, to which Mr. Evengle gave a reproaching look.

"Anyway," he continued, "each House has its own dormitories, or quarters where its students sleep and spend time."

"So, because you are not a first year student, we are giving you the option of being Sorted or choosing your own House. Personally, I'd like to have the hat Sort you but…"

An old man in the large portrait behind Professor McGonagall's desk coughed a little too pointedly. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips again, something Melanie was beginning to understand as her irritated face, quite similar to her regular face. The man in the portrait smiled ever so slightly and his eyes twinkled just a little more than they already did.

"Hmm," said Melanie with mock thoughtfulness, "which funny-sounding name should I choose?" She glanced at Professor McGonagall, expecting her irritated face, and smirked slightly when she saw it there. Then, she turned to Mr. Evengle. "What House were you in, Evengle?" she asked.

He puffed up his chest and straightened his tie. "I was in Ravenclaw. _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_," he recited proudly. She stared at him, eyebrows raised. "It's where the intelligent students are Sorted," he said impatiently.

Melanie wrinkled her nose. "Sounds pretentious. So, Professor," she said, clapping her hands together, "you say some _hat_ can Sort me?"

She nodded, and an oddly triumphant glint shone in her eyes.

"I think I'll do that," she said. "Leaving it up to chance. Sounds like an adventure."

Professor McGonagall had Melanie sit down in front of her desk, drew an old, tattered hat from a shelf, and placed it on the girl's head. Within one second, Melanie tore it off her head.

"What the hell?!" she yelled.

"Melanie!" her mother admonished.

"Mum, it _talked_ to me!"

"Calm down, Melanie," said Professor McGonagall. "That's how it Sorts you. Please put the hat back on your head."

Sighing, Melanie resumed her position. The hat murmured creepily in her head for a few more moments, asking her which House she belonged in, to which she replied she didn't bloody well know, and finally it yelled (she was pretty sure it spoke out this time), "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Where dwell the brave at heart," said one of the portraits on the wall.

After her mother was long asleep, Melanie sat awake in her bed, twirling her wand in her hand and reading a book Mr. Evengle had recommended she buy, _Hogwarts, A History_. Her House had been created by Godric Gryffindor, and bore the crest of a lion and the symbol of bravery. Somehow, she felt the hat had been mistaken. She didn't feel very brave. As she tried to go to sleep, dread for the next day consumed her. Would she be mildly terrible at magic, or really terrible? Would her professors yell at her? Would they look down at her and give up on her? Worse, when term actually started, would all the students look at her like she was a freak? Would they shun her or pity her? Would they simply ignore her and treat her like she was doomed to be a failure?

Finally, just to shut her mind up so she could sleep, Melanie decided that there was absolutely no hope for a girl like her in this new world. She would just have to use what she had to make it work.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter five is done, and only needs some editing work. It should be up in less than three days!

~Maya


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Sorry it took longer than promised, but here is chapter 5! I very much enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you enjoy reading it! Please review!

~Maya

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 5

After two long weeks of hard work and strain, Melanie now sported a total of fifteen burns on her body, had worn eleven different colors of hair, had six bites from about twelve different kinds of plants, and had made one thing float, turned a pin into half a needle, and learned to spell the name of one ancient goblin.

"I'm never gonna be a fifth year," she groaned to Mr. Evengle after trying and almost succeeding to levitate the pin she couldn't transfigure.

"I doubt it, yes," he said, and she glared at him. "Well, Melanie, fifth years have to take preparatory exams to enter a new level of education. You would have to have been a complete miracle to be of fifth year level, and even if you were I doubt Professor McGonagall would allow you to study in that year. Chances are, you'll be in fourth year."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Fine." And she continued her studies.

Her favorite subject by far was Potions; something about the way her hands seemed to know exactly what they were doing with the ingredients made the subject incredibly fascinating. Although she had expected her least favorite subject to be History of Magic (she had always hated history at her old school), Melanie found that it was actually Astronomy. Right away she knew that this was the class she'd drop when she had the chance. After the professors rushed her through magical theory, she found herself absolutely loving practical magic. The ability to simply wave a wand and have one's will done was exhilarating—if only she could actually do it. Sometimes she felt actual sweat dripping down her forehead while she jabbed her wand, with which she now had an ambivalent love-hate relationship, at a piece of glass.

In the precious little spare time she had, she explored the castle by herself. Hogwarts, though large, was actually quite cozy. At first, the portraits were odd and overly blunt in their comments, but Melanie slowly grew fond of them and even learned a few of their names. Once she had learned the illumination spell (and could sort of successfully perform it) she took to roaming the halls at night when her mother was asleep and she had much more time to herself. On one occasion, Melanie came upon a large door with a bronze, eagle-shaped knocker. Unable to contain herself, she knocked, and then jumped as the eagle asked her, "If a tree falls in the middle of the forest, but no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?" at which she felt extreme irritation and walked away without even bothering to think about it at all. Pretentious questions bothered her.

She looked forward to meals the most, and then her Potions lessons. She looked forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons as well, but they were beginning to scare her. What she most looked forward to, however, was the start of term. Hogwarts was large, warm, cozy, and lonely. And she was bored out of her mind.

* * *

It was the second time she stood in Professor McGonagall's office, and this time Melanie truly grasped the wonder it contained. So full of mystery and antiquity, it seemed to speak in its own voice. There was no way for even Professor McGonagall to know it in all its depth.

"Miss Daniels," began Professor McGonagall (she had taken to calling Melanie by this more "proper" name), "term will begin tomorrow, and we have no more time for tutoring. I've decided to place you in fourth year, which is extremely advanced for your current level. I congratulate you for achieving so much in so little time. However, I'm going to require you to take two hours every week of remedial studies for each of your subjects for at least the first term. There are definitely still some things you need to improve on, and the extra help is necessary."

Melanie nodded, slightly disappointed. They would all think she was the dumb kid, the one who needed the most extra tutoring. Hogwarts students probably already knew how to do all the things she couldn't.

"Oh, I almost forgot," said the witch. Melanie raised her eyebrows inquisitively. "You only need half an hour a week of extra tutoring for Potions," explained Professor McGonagall. "Professor Ollen insisted, otherwise I would have required two hours of that as well."

Her heart leapt at the news. There was something she was good at. Something to be proud of.

"All right, well, that's all," said Professor McGonagall, but the man with the twinkly eyes in the portrait behind her coughed. The Headmistress shut her eyes for a moment. "Good luck, Melanie. I believe you'll do very well in your classes with your peers. If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me."

Slightly bemused by Professor McGonagall's out-of-character compassion, Melanie nodded again and left the office without another word. As the heavy door closed behind her, she swore she heard Professor McGonagall say, "_I_ am headmistress now, Albus. Your ways are going to be the death of me."

* * *

After a night of restless tossing and turning, Melanie sat on the edge of her bed, anxiously twirling her wand in between her fingers. The clock read eleven o'clock. At that very moment, the students she would soon attend class with would pile up into a giant train and begin the drive to Hogwarts. Melanie had no clue what to expect. It wasn't something she talked to any of her teachers about, and Mr. Evengle didn't know either. She felt vulnerable, like a classic "new kid." The excitement that had been building up as the day approached now deflated like a pathetic, wimpy balloon.

Mrs. Daniels plodded out of the bathroom, rubbing her head with a towel, humming a light tune absently. She stopped abruptly when she saw Melanie's face, smiled, and sat down next to her.

"Melanie, I'm sure the kids will be wonderful," she said warmly.

"You're my mother. You're supposed to say that." Her expression remained obstinately terrified. "I just wish I had an idea," she sighed. "I have no clue who might be nice and who are the people to avoid. What if the people in my House are no good? What if they hate me because I'm a…I don't know what!"

Mrs. Daniels let out a short laugh. "Calm down. You're acting like a child going to school for the first time."

"But I am," whined Melanie, leaning on her mother's shoulder. "I'm a child in this world, and I'm going to school for the first time."

"You have a point there."

"Mum! Can we go back to the 'comforting me' thing?"

"I'm just trying to relax you a little," she laughed. "And I'm leaving in about an hour, so this is how I'm choosing to spend it with you. Be grateful." Her eyes were sparkling with amusement. Melanie's face softened.

"Summer was good with you," she said quietly, not wanting to bring up explicitly what had happened before the summer. "I wish you didn't have to go. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

With a slight nod, Mrs. Daniels replied, "I'm sure I will be. Mr. Evengle will stay with me for a while in the Wizarding hotels, or whatever they call them. He says he might have found a few cottages nearby. You can come see me on the weekends you get to go to the village, Hogsheard. Or was it Hogshord?"

"I don't bloody remember," mumbled Melanie. "I just wanna get through tonight."

"You will," her mother encouraged, squeezing her hand.

They spent some time together, until Mr. Evengle came to take her mother, and Melanie was left to idle the time away and try to untangle the knots in her stomach. She failed.

* * *

She watched from two floors up and hoped no one would see her. Hogwarts was relatively small; about three hundred bodies robed in black clamored up the stairs and passed the doors to the Great Hall. Though she was unable to tell the four Houses apart, Melanie recognized the cliques quite easily. There was a little group in the back that she couldn't quite place, all wearing the same disgusted expression. Shunted to the side of the crowd was a group of geeks, all slightly out of place, stumbling, and wearing too-big robes. Far on the other side were what could only be the rebels, wearing their ties loose and cuffs undone, glaring at the ground. Smack in the middle were the Miss Prisses, with the classic model bodies and made-up, vapid faces. Their smiles could be posted on billboards, if wizards had them, and they laughed and flipped their hair like they owned the school. But, as she looked towards the front of the crowd, Melanie saw that they clearly didn't.

The obvious ruler of the school was the largest group of them all, leading the entire assembly. Like the disgusted group, they couldn't quite be named with an exact stereotype. They walked as one, with an air of warm familiarity, yet they gave off a vibe that told Melanie that it took more than just a "hello" to be accepted into this group. From the glances that everyone else gave them, Melanie derived that they were extremely respected, even revered, and also a little hated. Trying to stay as invisible as possible, she joined them just as they all sat down in their House benches. To her surprise, the royal group split up and its members went in different directions. She had expected such a united group to be from one House.

After seating herself, Melanie watched as the first years came in, looking almost as frightened as she was. Unfortunately, in her desire to blend in with the crowd as much as possible, Melanie had moved into the middle of the group, and found herself sitting next to three of the Miss Prisses.

"You're new," one of the blonde ones commented.

Melanie set her jaw. "Yeah."

"What's your name?" asked one of the short ones, chewing gum loudly between words.

"Melanie." If she was as unrelenting as possible, they'd leave her alone.

"Year?" asked the first blonde girl.

"Why do you get to ask all the questions?" Melanie retorted. Keeping terse had never worked for her.

The short one shrugged. "We're the popular ones, innit?"

"Yeah," agreed the blonde one. "But you're right, I suppose. Don't you think?" She turned to the other two girls, who nodded like drones. "I'm Marla. That's Alex," she said, gesturing to the short one, who popped her gum, "and that's Dani," She pointed to the one who hadn't said anything.

Melanie nodded. "I'm a fourth year," she said hesitantly, and held her breath, hoping and praying that they wouldn't be in her year.

"So am I!" squealed Alex. Damn.

"Yeah, she's a newbie to our little group. I'm a sixth year, and so is Dani. Most of us are fifth years though." She shrugged flippantly. "We'd be happy to let you in. Where are you from?"

She opened her mouth to answer, and then stopped. "Why do you think I'd want to be 'in'?"

Marla looked shocked. "Because, like Alex already told you, we're the popular ones. Why would you _not_ want to be in?"

Unable to control herself, Melanie scoffed. "No," she said.

"No?" Marla raised her eyebrows, blue eyes burning dangerously.

"No," Melanie repeated. "You're not the popular ones." She nodded towards the parts of the giant group that had come to the Gryffindor table. "They are."

As she looked over, Marla's pretty smile curled into a vindictive sneer. "Oh," she spat. "Them. Fine. If you want to go join them, good luck. You'll probably die and rot for a million years before they even consider it. They think they're royalty, they do."

"Marla," Alex said in a sickeningly soothing voice. "Don't get worked up over them. You know those boys _want_ us."

At this, Marla looked somewhat calmed, and turned back to the Sorting Ceremony without even glancing at Melanie.

After dinner, Melanie trudged up the stairs with the crowd, wallowing in her misery that she'd have to share a dorm with Alex, the Prisses' stooge. She tried to separate herself from them, but the mass of Gryffindors made it nearly impossible to move. A large, boisterous boy pushed past her; she recognized him as one of the older members of the royal group.

"Hey, Ashley!" he called.

A blonde, older Miss Priss looked over her shoulder and pursed her lips. "What?"

He offered her a crooked smile. "You know what," he replied coaxingly.

She sighed, and finally smiled. "Noah, you already know that we're all going to be at the Welcome Back Party."

"Ashley," he repeated, grinning more broadly. "You know that I'm asking you if you'll come and er, spend some time with me after the party. Have some good fun, you know."

Ashley scoffed, rolled her eyes, and followed the Ravenclaws back up the stairs.

"You're new," said someone next to Melanie.

Melanie sighed deeply. "Yeah, I am." She looked at the boy who had spoken to her, and found herself staring into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. "Whoa," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Sorry." She shook her head rapidly. "Just never seen green eyes that bright before." She took a better look at him, and realized she had seen him amongst the royal group as well.

The boy laughed, and said, "I'm Albus Potter."

Reaching forward to shake his hand, Melanie racked her brains. "Where have I heard that name before," she wondered aloud.

"He was the old headmaster," said Albus, with an odd look on his face. "I get that you're new here and all, but Albus Dumbledore is a pretty famous name. He pretty much led the Second War."

"Oh, right!" cried Melanie.

"Yeah, I knew you knew him," said Albus, smiling.

"Oh, no, I don't know that. I heard Professor McGonagall say that name in her office," she explained.

"Er…okay. You really don't know who he was though?" Albus asked.

Hesitantly, Melanie shook her head. Here it was, the moment she would be shunned by the Wizarding world. Reading up on recent magical history would have probably been a good idea, she realized.

"Albus," scolded a girl behind him. "Of course she doesn't know. She's probably _that_ girl."

_That_ girl? They were already shunning her before they even met her. How far away were those giant doors? Could she make a run for it?

"Oh!" exclaimed Albus excitedly. "You're _that_ girl!"

"Erm," said Melanie. "That's me?"

"Sorry, I don't remember what your name is," he said.

"Melanie. Melanie Daniels. I don't mean to be rude, but how the bloody hell do you know me?"

The girl behind Albus chuckled. "I'm Rose Weasley," she said, putting her hand to her chest. "Our dads work at the Ministry of Magic, and they heard talk about a Muggle girl who got a blood transfusion and is now part of our world. My dad told me she—sorry, you—were going to Hogwarts. I'm really glad to meet you."

Slightly nervous that she'd been a topic of conversation in the Ministry of Magic, but extremely relieved that not everyone at Hogwarts would be like Princess Priss Marla, Melanie smiled. "It's good to meet you, too. What year are you?"

"I'm a Gryffindor fourth year. You?"

"Me too!" she cried. "I already met someone we stay with. She's called Alex?"

"Oh." Rose rolled her eyes. "One of them. Yeah, she's not too bad when she's not with the rest of her gang, but I try to steer clear. Al is a fourth year, too."

He nodded, grinning. "So if it's your first time at Hogwarts, I bet you've heard about the Welcome Back Party already."

Melanie grinned back. "I heard some guy talking about it just now, yeah. What is it? I mean I know what it is, obviously, but what's so special about it?"

"Oh, no," said Rose, rolling her eyes again, but with a wide smile. "They throw it at the beginning of every year. Details go out the day before the party. It's always in a different place, and everyone fourth year and older is invited."

"It's our first year. We've only heard stories," said Al, eyes glinting with relish.

"We'd love to take you," said Rose. "You won't feel so new with us, because we'll be totally new to it, too."

She felt in place already. "It's a plan, then," she said, smiling widely at her two new friends.

* * *

**A/N: **I tried to create a little classic clique conflict, because I want this story to be light and fun. I hope everyone likes it, please review! Leave your ideas and suggestions for me to look at! Chapter 6 is on its way!

~Maya


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I have for you Chapter 6! Some drama ensues yes, but keep in mind that I'm still playing with this story, so we'll see what happens from the events that occur here! It'll be a while until Chapter 7 is up, because I do need to work on my other stuff like Forever Young and some stand-alones, but enjoy this in the meantime!

* * *

Chapter 6

To Melanie's relief, the first week of classes went by quickly and smoothly. She met the head of Gryffindor House, and her Transfiguration teacher, Professor Veronica Scroll. If she had not been so casual and easy-going, Melanie would have definitely pegged her as an ex-Miss Priss. She was very young, pretty, and so comfortable with the students, that some, like the cocky boy Noah, had taken to calling her Veronica, to which she laughingly asked to be called Professor Scroll. Melanie liked her much better as a teacher than Professor McGonagall, who was actually rather frightening.

Lately, Melanie had also started trying to become more acquainted with the Wizarding world. She spent the week hunting down old newspapers and magazines to catch up on recent important history. After about fifty articles, Melanie learned a few names, like the Potters and Lord Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore. She read about the wars, and the persecution of people with Muggle blood. It definitely made her feel closer to her schoolmates. It also made her feel frightened for her life.

In her dorm there were five other girls besides her. Melanie shared a bunk with Rose, who had her own bed before. Alex, to her relief, slept on the other side of the large room, in a bunk with a girl called Fatima. Melanie hadn't spoken to her much, but she knew Rose liked her. The other two girls were frequently out of the dormitory, so Melanie hadn't even gotten a chance to meet them. She had met the other Gryffindor fifth years, however, and discovered that they were the most interesting group of people she had ever known. She especially liked Al, who seemed much too calm to a part of the royal group; all the boys from the group looked much rowdier and more obnoxious. They were also all very kind, she noticed. Often in the halls, Melanie saw the older boys like Fred Weasley and Alexander Longbottom help out a first year being hazed. When a loud, shrill sobbing woke all the girls up at three in the morning, Roxanne Weasley, a sixth year, sat with the broken-hearted girl on the floor until the sun rose.

Although Al and Rose had taken a liking to her and were spending plenty of time with her, Melanie knew she hadn't been invited into the royal group, and she knew that she may never be. The most she looked forward to was the Welcome Back Party, which had been officially titled "Killer."

"Why did they name it that?" Melanie asked as she drew a brush through her unrelentingly heavy hair.

"No idea," grunted Rose, trying to shove her foot into a bright orange stiletto heel. "I guess it's something about how the party's going to be 'a killer?' Noah and the Neo-Marauders are all about outdoing themselves every time they do something."

"Neo-Marauders?" repeated Melanie.

"Oh yeah, they hate to be called that. They say it's lame."

"What does it mean?" she asked.

"Well," Rose explained, finally securing the shoe in with her wand, "back in the day there were a group of four boys who were the absolute, most legendary pranksters Hogwarts had ever seen. They called themselves the Marauders, and some students after their time thought their legacy should be upheld or something."

"Are they in the history books?"

Rose laughed. "They might be, but not for their Marauding. I don't know if you've heard of them in your newspaper hunts, but they were James Potter the first, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

Melanie did a double-take. "Are you serious? The ones from the First War you mean?"

"Yup, that's them."

"Bloody…wow. Does this outfit work?"

Rose gave her a once-over, and nodded. "That shade of orange is a good color for you, and the shorts make it just the right amount of casual. You'll look perfect next to me." She clicked her heels with a smile and held up the corners of her purple dress.

Melanie raised her eyebrows. "You're putting bright, bright orange with bright, bright purple. And yet, it works."

"Damn right, it does. They're all going to go insane." She looked at Melanie and sighed. "I wish I had your hair. It's so pretty."

"What? You have the most beautiful hair in the whole bloody world. Why the hell would you want mine?"

Turning to the mirror, Rose shrugged. "Everyone's got red hair in the family." She looked at Melanie through the mirror. "I've got to warn you, Noah's a player, big time. And he likes brunettes and he's gonna _love_ someone new. Normally he won't go for a fourth year, but if he's checked you out he'll know you're fifteen, not fourteen. Watch it with him."

Melanie let out a laugh. "Why should I watch it? Maybe I'll have a little fun," she teased.

With a half-smile, Rose replied, "Just be careful. He makes girls feel like they really matter but then dumps them the next morning and acts like they should've known. They still all swoon over him, though."

Sighing, Melanie dropped her hair and decided she'd just let it hang loose and heavy, and said, "Don't worry. He'll play by my rules."

Rose laughed at her confidence. "Good luck."

* * *

The party was definitely a killer. In her Muggle high school, Melanie had been to one party, and it was nowhere near as fun as this one. Rose had dragged her past every part of the castle until they reached a very camouflaged door on the fourth floor.

"Whoa, I didn't even see that there," said Melanie, surprised.

"I know, they must have concealed it," said Rose excitedly. "I just knew what to look for." With that, she gently pushed on the door, and it swung open, revealing a large, dimly lit room full of people.

Instantly her attention was snatched by the middle of the room where there was a huge dance floor. Strobe lights flashed and sparkled, literally sparkled across the floor, following nearly fifty people as they danced. Tables of food lined the walls; Melanie watched some very attractive girls approach the table and the food floated up toward them.

"Isn't the music kind of quiet?" she asked Rose. "I mean, it's loud enough, but all the dances and parties I ever went to, the music was blasting, like, no one could hear each other."

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. This is the first Hogwarts party I've been to. I couldn't sneak into them last year like the other third years because the family always threw them and they know me, so…"

Laughing, Melanie replied, "That sucks. Oh well, the party is great. Just curious about the music."

"You think it's not loud enough?" a voice behind her asked. She whirled around to see Noah, the good-looking boy Rose had warned her about. Like the other boys at the party, he was dressed like a Muggle, with dark jeans and an un-tucked, button-down black shirt. She scoffed internally at his popped collar.

"I think it's loud enough," she replied with a smile, "but that's about it. It's not too loud, the way music should be at parties."

He smirked. "You used to be a Muggle."

Cocking one eyebrow, Melanie responded, "Yeah. I can totally see how that's related to music. You are quite the conversationalist."

He laughed deeply and ran his fingers through his thick hair. Melanie saw Rose fidget out of the corner of her eye. "Come dance with me and I'll show you what I meant." Noah extended his hand. She glanced over at Rose, whose brow was furrowed and whose gaze was directed across the room, turned back to Noah, and took his hand with a smile.

"See you later, Rose," Melanie said, as she followed him out to the floor. The moment her foot crossed over to the dance floor, the music's volume exploded like fireworks. "Whoa!" she shrieked.

"I told you," said Noah, grinning widely as he grabbed her hips and pulled her to him. She didn't touch him, but rather raised her hands up in the air and swayed to the beat. It was like high school again, and she felt completely at home for the first time.

After they danced, Noah accompanied her to the dessert table.

"I've gotta tell you, Noah," she said, laughing, "that magic with the music is excellent. Totally brilliant. I wish we could've had that sort of thing at the parties and dances back home. Then you'd be able to actually have conversations, not just make out in the corners."

"That doesn't sound so bad," he retorted with a teasing smile. "So where are you from?"

"London," she replied. "I never really lived anywhere else."

"Mmm," he murmured. "So you have a boyfriend back home?"

"I did," she said, shrugging. "We broke up right after I found out I was a witch. Obviously I couldn't tell him about it, and I'd have to move really far, and anyway he was no good."

"No good?" Noah repeated.

"Yeah. Like he was boring and a bad kisser. I mean, he was nice, but we'd only been together about a month before I broke up with him. I felt bad about it, 'cause he was nice, but I don't think he liked me very much either."

"What?" he cried, looking exaggeratedly shocked. "How could he not like you?"

"Shut up," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "We just didn't work, I guess. Anyway, what about you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Melanie, if I had a girlfriend, don't you think I'd be dancing and eating cherry pies with her and not you?"

"No," she scoffed.

"No?" He looked genuinely surprised.

"No," she repeated. "I absolutely don't think you're the type of guy to spend every second with his girlfriend and not flirt with other girls."

"You think I'm flirting with you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You bloody danced with me and you're eating cherry pies with me!"

"I concede."

Melanie let out a laugh. "But yes, I think you're the kind of guy who flirts with anyone he likes, even with a girlfriend."

Noah chuckled. "All right, all right. No, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Really?" inquired Melanie. "'Cause that girl's been giving you the eye all night." She nodded across the room at a very attractive dirty blonde in a black sparkly dress that barely covered her bottom.

"Oh, her," he said. "That's Ashley Donovan. She runs that crew of girls who think they're the most popular people in town."

"The Miss Prisses," she replied.

Noah laughed loudly. "That's brilliant, that is. I've got to remember that."

"She's really hot, Noah," Melanie commented.

Noah raised his eyebrows. "Your point?"

"She's obviously really into you. And she's really hot. So why aren't you going for it?"

"Is it too difficult to believe that I might just like you better?"

"Shut up," she laughed. "We've already established what kind of guy you are. I'm not fooling myself into thinking you're interested in my _personality_ so don't you try. Honestly tell me, why not Ashley Donovan?"

He shrugged, looking way. "Dunno."

"Oh," she said, suddenly realizing. "You think you can have her anytime. You're _saving_ her. Wow. You think that just because you run the royal group you get to—"

"The what?" he interrupted.

"The-the…er…what? The royal group?" she answered, slightly baffled.

"Who's that? The royal group? Wait," he stopped, holding his hands up and giving her an odd look. "You named them the Miss Prisses, so you named _us_ the royal group? Are you serious?"

Melanie shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah. Is there anything else I would call a giant group of people who walk like they own the castle and actually do?"

"I guess…we've always just called ourselves the group or the family. Most of us are related anyway. Only a couple of people have gotten in on merit."

"Wow." Melanie rolled her eyes. "On merit. Right. Yes, you are completely and entirely the royalty of Hogwarts."

"Well, thank you," he said, bowing theatrically. Suddenly, a loud ruckus broke out near the entrance. It seemed that a couple of people had crashed the party.

"You can't bloody be here!" yelled a redhead boy in a dark blue shirt, moving to shove the person out the door.

"Who's there?" called Noah, turning away from Melanie. A sullen looking boy donning Hogwarts robes adorned with green Slytherin flourishes stepped forward, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Behind him stood a girl with short, curly blonde hair with red tips, wearing Hufflepuff robes. Noah's face soured and his eyes blazed. "Get the hell out of here, Spook," he hissed.

The music had softened, and almost everyone had stopped what they were doing. Rose and Al hurried over to Melanie. "Oh, Merlin," Rose whispered, looking both frightened and excited beyond excitement. "Noah's really gonna give it to him."

"Noah," murmured Al. "Don't do it."

"You are _not_ welcome here," Noah continued, completely ignoring Al. The redhead boy in the blue shirt and another boy stood behind him now.

"Fred," called a blonde girl in the front of the onlookers. "Just tell him to drop it! Let Spook stay. Let's just have the party."

The redhead boy twitched slightly. "Just go shut the door, Eden. Re-do the bloody spells. Clearly, they don't work." He gave the boy, Spook, a nasty look.

"That's Fred?" whispered Melanie, to which Rose nodded.

"And that's Walter Goyle. He's a fifth call him Spook. None of the older kids like him at all."

"I don't want to stay," said Spook loudly. "I have a bone to pick with your bloody leader."

"And who might that be?" Fred asked challengingly. Spook stared directly at Noah.

"What do you want?" Noah spat. "And make it quick, we were all in the middle of something."

Spook scoffed disgustedly, and said, "It's a private message."

"If you've got something to say to Noah, and you're referring to him as "our leader," then you've got something to say to the rest of us as well," said the other boy behind Noah, in a much calmer tone.

"Who's that?" muttered Melanie. "He seems bloody normal, unlike the rest of them."

"Xander Longbottom. He is," Rose giggled under her breath.

With a piercing glare, Spook finally conceded, "You haven't won. We're coming back. Welcome back to school, Prewett." He turned on his heel and stormed out, taking the blonde girl with him.

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Noah yelled, "All right everyone, get back to the party!" Swiftly, he waved his wand, raised the music up to a deafening boom, and left the room with the other two boys.

"I think we ought to leave, too," said Rose over the music. "You can stay if you want, but Al and I are gonna go. I can already see the big group members leaving, and we're family, so..."

"I'll come, too. It's not like I really, really want to hang out with Alex," Melanie groaned.

Rose smiled. "All right, let's go."

* * *

**A/N:** What do you guys think happens next? Leave reviews and tell me! And what's with Melanie and Noah? Is she going to go for him? Is she just flirting with him? Does she have her eye on someone else? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter! Thanks so much for reading.

~Maya


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to post this, but here it is! I hope you like it, it took quite a bit of editing.

~Maya

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 7

"What the hell was that, anyway?" Melanie asked as they climbed through the portrait hole into Gryffindor Tower.

"I don't know," responded Al with a shrug. "I keep bugging James to tell me what's going on with Spook, but he won't."

"James? Why don't you ask Noah?"

"I don't really talk to Noah," he said. "Anyway, James and Spook are in the same year, and they interact way more. I think Noah and Spook have only had one or two other seriously horrible confrontations in the past."

The royal group was currently huddled in front of the fireplace in the middle of the common room, and Noah was angrily glaring at the fire while Fred talked to the group.

"We know why he's so angry," he explained. "But it didn't have much to do with us, really. It was a fifth year thing, and it just got out of hand or something. James, Myra, can you go into detail about what happened?"

A girl with curly brown hair that fell to her shoulders groaned loudly and answered him, "It's not really a big deal, Fred. Spook is just one of those gangster boys. He's just looking for trouble."

"Shut up, Myra," snapped the boy next to her. "Fred, that guy is trouble. He was one of the pureblood bastards who were picking on Lily last year. Then Mason George pounded on him and the other one—I don't remember his name—and now he's all pissed off. After the last two fights it's just gotten really bad."

"What?!" shrieked Al and Rose in unison.

"Who's Mason George?" Melanie whispered.

"Mason's in fourth year with us. He's Myra's cousin. I didn't know our year was involved!" hissed Rose.

"Oh, hell, it's the new girl!" cried Noah in surprise, looking up from the fireplace for the first time since they'd walked in.

"Maybe she should go upstairs," suggested a sweet-looking blonde girl.

"Eden," chastised a boy who looked extraordinarily like the Herbology professor. "We don't have to kick her out."

"Yeah!" agreed Noah enthusiastically. "No need to kick her out. Melanie, care to introduce yourself?" He turned to the group. "This here is Melanie Daniels. She's the new girl who got turned into a wizard that our parents have been talking about for the last forever. She's in fourth year but she's old enough to be in fifth. And she's a bloody good dancer."

"Thanks," said Melanie, amused. "It's been a pleasure _introducing myself_ to the Royal Group."

"The what?" asked the curly-haired girl, Myra.

"She calls us the 'Royal Group,'" Noah laughed. "I thought it was bloody hilarious, too."

"I wasn't laughing," Myra replied curtly.

"Let her talk, Noah," chastised the blonde girl with a smile. "I'm Eden. Don't get me wrong about before—it's lovely to meet you, but I just worry that this ridiculous Spook drama might be too much for someone not really used to it."

Melanie threw back her head and laughed openly. "Trust me, Eden," she assured her, "I have had my great share of drama as well at my old school."

"Ooh, you went to Muggle school, didn't you?" another red-haired girl excitedly asked. Melanie assumed she was one of the close family.

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it was great. I've got to say, though, you all really know how to throw a party. No one in my old school would have ever come close to throwing something like that." Noah, Fred, and the Herbology professor boy seemed to swell like balloons with pride.

"It is bloody _amazing_ to get a new opinion for once!" cried Noah.

"Yeah! We never really get anything new anymore, except from the plastic girls who just want a piece of us," exclaimed Fred.

"Oh, oh," Noah said, excited, "Melanie even had a name for the girls! What was it again, Mels?"

"It was the Miss Prisses, and don't call me Mels." She raised her eyebrows at him and pursed her lips. From her youngest years, she had hated that nickname.

"If you don't mind," Rose said, a little loudly. "Could we please get back to the problem at hand? You know, Spook? The one who just swore war on us? The one who might come for the fourth years now? That's mine and Al's territory, and we need to know what to do."

"You know what? I think it's time we just got him expelled," sighed Myra, throwing her hands up in the air. "Forget this stupid back-and-forth drama crap. He deserves it, anyway."

Nodding sympathetically, the boy next to her draped his arm over her shoulder. "I know, Myra. But all he's really done is hex us once in a while. It'll get him tons of detentions, but there's no way he'll be expelled."

"Maybe we could take it to McGonagall," murmured Al.

The boy snapped his attention to him. "Al, I get it. It still bothers me that he picked on our sister, too. But face it, there's no way to get him right now."

"Whoa, whoa," interjected Melanie. "You're James Potter?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and her mouth curved into a huge grin. "No wonder you're so friggin' cute!"

The entire group roared with laughter. She had even brought Fred to his knees. No one noticed Noah grimace slightly as he laughed a little too loudly.

"Why would you tell him that?" howled Rose.

"Now he's just gonna walk around like he owns the castle!" shrieked Myra.

"Hey!" whined James indignantly. "Why is no one taking her seriously? She's right, you know! Her opinion is more valuable too, because she's never known me before!" He turned to her. "Thanks," he said with a cocky smile. "I'm definitely the best-looking you'll find in Hogwarts."

Melanie smirked at his confidence. The boys in this Royal Group were certainly amusing.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, cowboy," Myra said, groaning as she clutched her side. "But yes," she replied, looking at Melanie, "he's James."

"Okay," she said. "May I make a suggestion? You know, about this Spook thing?"

Hesitant glances were exchanged. _'God, this Royal Group takes the exclusivity thing really damn seriously,'_ she thought, slightly irritated.

"Go ahead," offered the Herbology professor boy.

"Ugh, bloody hell," she groaned. "Who _are_ you? You look so exactly like Professor Longbottom!"

The group laughed again, though this time not so rambunctiously. "He's Professor Longbottom's son," answered Eden softly.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "My name's Xander."

Melanie sighed, relieved to finally know why he so resembled the sweetest professor she'd ever known.

"Alexander Longbottom," Eden murmured with a smile, entwining her fingers with hers.

"EW!" everyone groaned.

"Keep that to yourselves!" shouted James, covering his eyes.

"God, Longbottom, can't you keep that bloody hand of yours in your pocket?" yelled Fred.

"I can't believe you'd do that in PUBLIC!" shrieked Myra, looking appalled.

"I don't get it," Melanie interjected, confused. "They're just holding hands..."

"That's kinda the joke," explained Rose. "See, Xander and Eden have been a couple since forever, but no one ever sees them PDA _anything_. Everyone's always ragging on them about it, and this is one of the ways."

"Ohh."

"Yeah."

"Go on, Melanie," Xander said loudly, with an amused and exasperated smile.

"So, all right," she continued. "If you all are really looking to get him kicked out, you need to set a trap."

James and Fred, who she immediately deemed the troublemakers, raised their eyebrows inquisitively.

"You need to find a way to make him do something that would most certainly get him kicked out of the school. Something that is without a doubt expulsion-worthy," she explained. "Are you following me?"

They nodded. With a secret smile, Melanie silently applauded herself for gaining this incredibly pretentious group's attention so soon.

"Basically, you'll need to decide on the act. Then, you need some form of bait that will most certainly cause him to go through with the act. Last, you'll need to decide on a way to have him caught. Of course, those are only the building blocks. You need to fix, foolproof, and finalize your plan as well." Triumphant, she crossed her arms across her chest. The Royal Group looked—there was no other way to put it—absolutely dazzled.

"She just did half our work for us," murmured Xander.

"All right!" cried Fred, clapping his hands together. "We'll get on this at the crack of dawn! Before that slimy Spook has a chance to up his game. I suggest everyone get a good night's rest. This night was, after all, a huge and really damn tiring success!"

Eden rolled her eyes and scoffed, attracting several pairs of extremely surprised eyes. "It's just—you know—it's—well, success?" she spluttered, blushing.

"Well, despite the annoyance for us, people are going to be talking about that for weeks, are they not?" replied Fred, his eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, a party with a dramatic conflict is the best kind!" agreed Noah enthusiastically.

"Yes, I guess that's true," she laughed, shaking her head. "Good job, you three, and good night to all of you!"

* * *

In the girls' dormitory, Melanie settled into a fluffy sofa and pulled a plush blanket over her to read a book. Because she knew the boys didn't have a mini common room in their dormitory, she always felt smug when she snuggled up in the girls'. The Founders must have been geniuses to know that girls would always love slumber parties. Small and round, the room had two sofas, almost ten bean bags, two small cots, and a tiny but hearty fireplace. Most of the Gryffindor girls were unwinding in the room, and Melanie was trying desperately not to catch the eyes of her roommates. Unfortunately, she had no such luck.

"I saw you dancing with Noah!" Alex Rivers cried in her annoying, nasal tone, obnoxiously popping her gum. "It's totally all over the school now."

Extremely irritated, Melanie slowly closed her book. "Is it now?" Her voice shook dangerously.

"Yes!" Alex said victoriously, clearly not reading Melanie's fiery expression well. "Normally people don't really talk about Noah's conquests, but everyone could tell from the heat on that dance floor that Noah was _your_ conquest tonight."

Melanie let out an impossibly slow breath, but when she opened her mouth to spew vulgar curse words at the stupid gossipy girl, someone else did the job for her.

"Why don't you just go run your big, stupid, lying mouth to someone who cares? Oh wait, because no one does!" Myra hissed from Melanie.

Oblivious to any insult, Alex popped her gum and scoffed, "Don't be jealous just because _we're_ more popular than you all. I know that Charlotte _and_ Candy both got the boy you've had your eye on for ages." With a smirk, she gestured to two strawberry blonde identical girls giggling in front of a large mirror on the wall.

"First of all," spat Myra through gritted teeth, "you've got no idea who I have my eye on. Second, the only reason any of you get any boy is that you're _so bloody easy_. Now sod off!"

Rolling her eyes in an extremely annoying manner, Alex stalked away, letting her fake ringlets bounce up and down with the rest of her body.

"Nice, Myra," said Melanie appreciatively.

"Thanks," she sighed in response. "That girl seriously drives me insane. And so do the clones." She gestured again towards the identical girls in front of the mirror, the ones Alex had called Charlotte and Candy.

"If you don't mind me asking," Melanie began, "who was Rivers talking about? I mean, the boy."

Avoiding meeting her eye, Myra winced slightly. "No one," she mumbled. "I mean, they think they know…they think it's James. But I don't have feelings for him. He's just-just my best friend."

Suddenly feeling slightly awkward, Melanie nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, Noah wasn't my conquest. I just enjoy the company of boys who think they're going to get lucky later. It's entertaining."

Myra laughed. "You're an interesting person, Melanie. Noah's going to be so off his game if he ever hears you said that about him."

Nonchalantly, Melanie shrugged.

"So are you interested in dating around here?" Myra asked. "'Cause I definitely know some guys who'd be great for a casual fling."

"Do you?" asked Melanie with partial interest. In truth, Melanie had envisioned wizard boys to be very weird and alien-like, but was more than pleased to discover that she had been enormously wrong.

"Oh yeah. Hmm. Well Mason's in your year, but he's much too gallant to be in anything but a serious relationship. The other fourth year boys are just dull and dweeby. You could go out with Harlan, he's Hufflepuff, but he's part of our—er, Royal Group—and I wouldn't really encourage casually dating someone within the group. Dating each other, unless you're serious, causes problems and unnecessary drama."

"But what's the issue?" Melanie inquired. "I'm not part of the group."

"What?" Myra demanded incredulously. "Of course you are. Didn't you see what just happened in the common room, there? You're so definitely part of us."

"She's right, Melanie," Rose called from the fourth year room. "Now get the hell to bed! It's late and we have astronomy at five in the morning tomorrow!"

With an amused laugh, Melanie said good night and sauntered off to bed, hating astronomy.

* * *

**A/N:** All right, so that was Chapter 7! You probably won't see Chapter 8 for a couple weeks, but I will try to get it up within the month! I don't want to be one of those authors who posts once a month or even less often, so I'll get on top of my game. Let me know how you like my characters, and any advice you have would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

~Maya


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** So sorry for the slow update, but now that I'm on holiday I'll be able to write and update much faster! Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 8

The Winter Ball was coming up, and as a method of "making new friends," Professor McGonagall had required Melanie to volunteer in the decoration group. She had very reluctantly agreed on Professor McGonagall's perseverance, despite her insistence that she already had plenty of friends. Out of pity, Rose and Al signed up to volunteer with her, and this caused a massive demand for the rest of the decoration volunteer spots.

"I did not realize just how damn popular you all are," Melanie commented as she craned her neck to look over the crowd of students attacking the sign-up table.

They both laughed lightly. "It's not us. It's our family," said Al.

"And it's us," quipped Rose with a grin.

"And it's us," Al agreed, laughing again.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "So, Winter Ball. Is it any fun?"

"Don't know. You should ask a fifth year," replied Rose. "It's gonna be our first time. But I've heard it's seriously awesome, with really good decorations and music and stuff."

"Are you serious? The cutoff is fourth year for this, too?"

"Yup," replied Al. "The only thing third years get to do that second years don't is go to Hogsmeade."

"Oh, the Wizarding village thingamajig, right?" exclaimed Melanie. "I really, really wanna go."

"Yeah? Next visit is this weekend," Al said excitedly. "We should all go together!"

"Except that I think Melanie would like to go with me," said a cocky voice from behind them, and they turned around to see James Potter standing before them. "You did say I was cute, after all." He grinned broadly.

"Oh?" she flirted, raising one eyebrow. "Are you asking me out on a date? Because you know, these wizard clues are different than Muggle ones. You'll have to be more forward with me."

"Yeah?" His grin widened and he placed a hand on her arm. "Melanie, I'd like it if you would go to Hogsmeade with me _on a date_." He particularly enunciated the last three words, waiting confidently for an answer.

For a moment, though her intention was to decline immediately, Melanie genuinely thought about it. James seemed like a nice enough guy, someone she'd definitely have a good time with, but if she had learned anything from past experiences it was that cocky boys needed to be put down.

"Sorry, James," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I already have a date to Hogsmeade. Two, actually." And with that, she left the shocked and befuddled boy in the corridor and left with her friends.

"You have two dates to Hogsmeade?" repeated Al, thoroughly confused.

"She means us, moron," said Rose, rolling her eyes.

"Ohh."

"Yeah."

"If you'll have me," added Melanie teasingly.

"I dunno, Melanie," Al joked. "After what you did to my brother there, I'm starting to think you're really a heartbreaker. I'm not sure I can trust you with my vulnerable feelings."

Nonchalantly, Melanie shrugged. "All right. I suppose I can find someone else. It seems like everyone is dying to go for the new girl."

They were. Everywhere she went, Melanie caught random people staring at her. Sometimes it was little girls whispering about her, sometimes it was boys checking her out, and sometimes it was the Miss Prisses and their haughty, vindictive glares. Truth be told, she thoroughly enjoyed it. The attention soothed her resentment and anger towards her father's death. She no longer felt as though fate had decided to hate her; Hogwarts seemed to be the best thing that had ever happened to her.

She hadn't told anyone that her father had died in the car accident that had indirectly made her a witch. Surprisingly, no one asked about the accident, probably because they were more interested in what had happened afterwards. Altogether, people saw it fairly clearly: She had been in an accident, lost blood, and gotten a lot of wizard blood. So nobody wondered about the other details.

For this, Melanie was grateful. She hadn't even come to terms with her father's death by herself, or with her mother, let alone the people she had just met. Everything had happened so fast that she had been forced to abandon her mourning period (which she was all too happy to do) and focus on the many jarring situations at hand.

"No, no, no," protested Al, grabbing her arm. "You're all ours for Hogsmeade!"

A little thrown off by his sudden gesture, Melanie let out a loud laugh. "All right, all right! No need to attack me! Rose, get this maniac off my arm!"

Giggling, Rose pulled her brother, who was now making mock desperate efforts to cling on, off of Melanie's arm.

"So what does one do in this Hogsmeade?" asked Melanie.

"Oh, there are so many things to do and shops to see and we can see the Shrieking Shack and have butterbeer and do all sorts of cool things and get Zonko's pranks and—"

"Whoa, Al, feel free to take a breath somewhere there!" Rose snickered. "He gets really, really excited about Hogsmeade. The only thing he gets noticeably excited about."

"Yeah…I can see that," Melanie replied, eyeing him warily with a joking smile playing on her lips.

"It's really exciting, though," Al whined. "All the good food and sweets at Honeydukes and the ZONKO'S JOKE SHOP—"

"You realize this fanboy drool thing doesn't answer my question at all, right?" drawled Melanie humorously.

"You just shop around and look around at Hogsmeade. There's a few things to see, but really just a lot of shops. There's a sweet shop and some nice pubs, definitely a lot of good food," explained Rose with a chuckle.

"You forgot the _joke shop_," moaned Al. "You can't just forget the joke shop!"

"I thought Al wasn't as into the jokes and pranks as the others?" inquired Melanie.

"He's not," Rose clarified, sighing heavily. "The joke shop is his only weakness. Uncle George—that's Fred's dad—and his brother ran the joke shop in Diagon Alley. You know, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

She did know. It had been the shop that had stood out the most to her—and everyone else in Diagon Alley. When she'd stepped past the brick wall, the first thing she'd noticed was the huge, purple, flashing building with whatsits and thingamajigs flying out of the door and roof.

"Are you serious? You can't be serious. _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?_ Oh, hell, Mum wouldn't let me go in there! You're related to the _owner_ of that awesome place? Oh, of course you are…Weasley…obviously. Can't believe I didn't make that connection before. Wow, that is awesome. Seriously. Seriously? The owner is your _uncle_? Bloody hell…"

"Melanie!" said Rose sharply. "You're rambling worse than Al."

"Oh. Sorry," replied Melanie sheepishly. "But still. That's seriously cool. So Fred's dad and his brother run the place?"

Both siblings cringed visibly.

"What? What did I say wrong?" Melanie asked.

"Fred's dad had a twin brother who was equally the prankster he was in Hogwarts," Rose explained cautiously.

"Okay?" Melanie prompted, still confused.

"They went on to start Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes when they left Hogwarts, but then the war started," Al continued quietly.

"Uncle George's twin, Fred, died in the war," whispered Rose.

"And even though Uncle George is mostly okay now, what with losing his other half and all, _Fred_ isn't okay. I mean Fred, like Uncle George's son," added Al.

"Well, why not? He never knew his uncle," said Melanie.

"In case you hadn't noticed, we're all named after dead people. Or like, important people," said Al.

"I'm not," muttered Rose.

"Shut up, Rose."

"Just saying," she defended. "Feels right un-special."

"Un-special to not have to know that somebody's _death_ made your parents name you that way every time someone calls you?" asked Al quietly.

Rose looked slightly uncomfortable. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"Anyway," he continued, turning back to Melanie, "even though we're all named after dead people, we're mostly okay with it. It's a little weird sometimes, when I know that Dad's thinking about his own father when he calls James, or when he's thinking about Albus Dumbledore when he calls me. Mostly, though, we're okay."

"And?" Melanie urged. She was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this topic and beginning to regret mentioning George Weasley's twin in the first place. Death gave her extreme anxiety.

"Fred's the only one out of us who isn't okay with his namesake."

"Why?"

"Because," answered Rose. "Uncle George and his twin were apparently totally inseparable. Mum says that when their brother died, it took George years to even start to speak normally again. And she says he only started making jokes after Fred was born."

"Basically, Fred feels like a replacement. He always has horrible fights with his dad because of it. Believes his dad doesn't know who he is and only sees his dead brother when he looks at his son," said Al.

"It's really sad, because Uncle George doesn't feel that way about Fred at all. He's just named like that to honor his brother. But Fred can't handle it," said Rose sadly.

"So don't mention Uncle George's brother in front of Fred _at all_," warned Al, a dangerous look in his eye.

"All right," murmured Melanie. "I'm sorry." She'd had no idea that there was so much tragic history behind anybody from the Royal Group. At first sight, they seemed so well-off that there couldn't possibly be even a hint of misfortune in any of their lives. Pondering this new information, she wondered what kind of baggage the rest of them carried.

"How do you think you did on the Transfiguration essay?" Rose asked the two of them, changing the subject.

"I hope I did better than the last one," Melanie groaned as they entered Professor Scroll's classroom.

As usual, she was sitting on top of her desk with her robes open down the front, revealing a very attractive and fitted Muggle outfit. Her black hair cascaded gorgeously down her back, and she was running her fingers through it while smiling exasperatedly at the boy in front of her, Noah.

"Come on, Veronica," he said with a persuading, cocky grin. "Hogsmeade weekend. Think about it?"

"That's _Professor Scroll_ to you, Mr. Prewett. And I don't think I'm going to dignify that question with a response," she replied with a smirk, pushing him away gently as she hopped off her desk.

Noah clutched his heart dramatically and extended his hand outwards to her as Xander Longbottom dragged him away. "You wound me, Veronica. I know in my heart we are meant for each other!" he called over his shoulder.

Professor Scroll chuckled lightly to herself, and then turned to the class with a wide smile. "All right, class," she said. "Today we'll be getting back our essays."

Everybody groaned very loudly.

"Oh, come on, now," she exclaimed. "They were good essays!"

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Mason George from across the room. Melanie looked over at him curiously. Myra had said he'd be too serious for a casual relationship, but he seemed quite easy going. His features were slightly pudgy and boyish; of course, he was a fourth year. Fourteen-year-old boys were all still in that awkward stage.

"Oh, no, Mason," replied Professor Scroll. "Your essay was actually one of my favorites."

"Bloody teacher's pet," teased a boy sitting next to him.

"Shut up, Wilkins," Mason replied, shoving him.

"All right, now, boys, act your age!" cried Professor Scroll, as they started shoving each other more vigorously. "Don't be so childish!" But they wouldn't let up, until Professor Scroll drew her wand and cast a Protego charm between them, almost completely restricting their movements. "Now," she continued. "Let us have our class."

"Er, you're not gonna release them?" asked Melanie uncertainly.

"They'll be able to participate in the class," she reassured them. "Just not with each other. Or, well, with anyone else."

"She's so bloody cool," whispered Al.

* * *

Later in the week, Melanie was sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room one night, finishing up a Charms assignment when the majority of the Royal Group sauntered in the room, laughing rowdily, and settled down beside her.

"Whoa," she said, putting her hands up. "Personal space. I'm doing work here."

"If you were doing work," slurred Noah, throwing an arm over her shoulders, "you'd be in your dormitory. But you're down here. In the common room. With _us_."

"No, Noah," she replied, sliding out from under his arm. "_You_ are here with _me_. I was here first. Are you all drunk?"

"No," laughed Myra. "Just Noah. I cannot tell you how. It's safer for you if you don't know," she said dramatically.

"Why is Noah drunk?" asked Melanie absently, returning to her assignment.

"Because my love won't return my affections," he moaned pitifully.

"Shut up, Noah!" Myra tossed a sofa cushion at him, hitting him square on the chest.

"Umph," he mumbled. "That hurt, Myra. It really did. But not as much as the pain I feel from the constant rejection."

"Who's rejecting you, Noah?" asked Melanie, bored.

Noah sighed theatrically. "My love Veronica."

"Professor Scroll?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes. That's her name."

"He's been moaning about this for the past two hours. That's why we came back so early," groaned Myra.

"Midnight isn't early," chuckled Xander. "Eden's probably expecting me."

"Ooh," teased Myra, Fred, and James in unison.

"Are you going to _hug_ her?" gasped Myra.

"Oh, Merlin!" James whistled.

"Scandalous!" cried Fred.

"A HUG!" shouted Noah, throwing his arms in the air. "A hug is all I ask for! A hug, a mere embrace I would be content with. But she continues to discard me. Like a paper written by one of her pathetic students." He lunged at Melanie's parchment. "IS THIS WORTH MORE THAN ME, VERONICA!?" he bawled.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Melanie shrieked, snatching her parchment away and rolling it back up. "Is he always such a Shakespearean tragedy when he's drunk?"

"Pretty much."

"Yup."

"You are correct."

"Well put."

"My _life_ is a tragedy," Noah moaned softly. Everyone groaned.

"All right!" Xander said loudly. "It's time to get you up to bed, Noah."

"I wholeheartedly agree," said James with a grin.

Xander shot him a dirty look. "_You_ don't have to get him there. You're a fifth year."

"Yeah," said Myra, smirking at him teasingly. "So he and I will just stay down here."

"Please don't," sighed Melanie.

"Why not?" asked James, feigning hurt. "Don't you want to be surrounded by the amazingness?"

"I really just want to finish my Charms work."

"All right, suit yourself," he said with a laugh. "But I'm holding you to a Hogsmeade date, after your cruel rejection last week!" He winked at her.

"Rejection!" wailed Noah. "That's all I have."

"Bloody hell, James," muttered Myra. "You had to start him again."

They cleared off, Myra continuing to berate James under her breath.

* * *

It finally turned two o'clock and Melanie packed up her assignment, rubbing her eyes vigorously. She really should not have left the huge Charms assignment for the night before it was due. Next time, she told herself. But deep down she knew next time would be just the same. Hollowly and exhaustedly, Melanie laughed to herself as she stood up weakly. Before she could approach the staircase, her eyes started to close and she felt herself falling…falling…but she didn't hit the floor. Instead she fell into what could only be the arms and chest of a very muscular man. Out of sheer surprise, she opened her eyes.

"Noah?" she said in shock.

"Melanie, hey," he whispered, smiling. A real, genuine smile, not the cocky one he wore during the day.

"What are you doing up?" she asked, still slightly stunned.

"I could ask you the same thing," he smirked.

"Don't you remember?" she muttered sarcastically, rubbing her eyes.

"Probably not," Noah chuckled, shaking his head. There was no way he'd remember much of it.

"I was working on a Charms assignment that's due tomorrow. Practical and theory." She groaned internally. She'd finished it, but she was sure she'd done a horrible job. "_You_ were bothering me," she accused.

Noah cringed. "Sorry."

"Yeah, whatever," she muttered, trying to escape from his arms.

"Wait," he said, gripping harder. "I do remember one thing."

"And what's that?" Melanie asked tiredly. She really didn't want to know. All she wanted was to go up to her bed and sleep.

"I remember moaning and whining about rejection."

"Yes, you did do that."

"I said it was about Veronica."

"Yes. You did do that, too."

"I meant it was about you," he said softly.

Melanie stopped short. He had to be joking. He couldn't be serious. It was two o'clock in the morning. She needed to sleep. He had been drunk two hours ago. He had been crying about Professor Scroll. There was definitely something wrong. Something was so, most definitely wrong. But before she could think it through, Noah leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

**A/N:** Whoa! A cliffhanger! Tell me in your reviews what you thought of this turn of events. Do you think Melanie and Noah should get together? Do you think she should get with Al? Also, I know it seems like just some random OC story in here, but I promise that the blood transfusion thing will become relevant later! Please keep reading and reviewing!

~Maya


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Here's chapter 9, quicker than I expected! I'm working on this a lot faster and a lot more now that a) I have time and b) I know where it's going to go. Thank you to the people who reviewed my last chapter, but expect a lot of interesting things to happen with Noah and Melanie. He's definitely my favorite character to write at the moment!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 9

At seven in the morning, Melanie found herself rushing to Remedial Defense Against the Dark Arts. Panting heavily, she barely had time to pull her red and gold tie tightly around her neck and yank her socks up to their fullest height. With less than five hours of sleep as fuel, she could barely make it through the hallway to her tutoring class. As she stumbled into the classroom, Professor Nesbaum snapped, "I don't suppose there's a good reason for you being late, Miss Daniels?"

She winced, thinking about what had happened late the night before.

FLASHBACK

"_What the hell was that?" she cried, shoving Noah off her._

"_You kissed me back," he replied, grinning broadly. _

"_Yes, I did. You're bloody hot, Noah. Any girl in her right mind would kiss you back. But you were NOT invited to kiss me!"_

"_So you think I'm attractive?" said Noah, running his hands through his hair._

"_That's not the point. You were totally out of line. Just two hours ago you were complaining that Professor Scroll rejected you—"_

"_I just told you I was talking about you!" he interrupted. _

"_When did I ever reject you?" She threw her hands up in the air exasperatedly. _

"_Like, when you, like, I dunno…you didn't care to get to know me after the Killer party."_

"_That's pathetic, Noah."_

"_Oh, so first you think I'm attractive, then you think I'm pathetic?"_

"_It's possible to think both, yes. And I do."_

"_I don't understand you, Melanie."_

"_Good," she said vehemently. "I don't plan on you ever knowing me enough to understand me."_

"_Melanie, come on. I took a chance. Why can't you give me one?" he pleaded. _

"_That wasn't a chance, Noah. I know what you are. I know what kind of guy you are. You've done that to plenty of other girls who just swoon into your arms. That wasn't a chance you were taking. It was a sure thing. At least it was, in your eyes." She glared at him, making him quail in fear. "You won't play me."_

"_I wasn't planning on playing you," he protested. _

"_It doesn't matter." She shook her head. "I'm my own person. I don't want to go out with any guys."_

_And with that, she left him standing there and forced her exhausted legs up the stairs to the girls' dormitory."_

END FLASHBACK

Melanie bit her lip and shook her head. "No, Professor. Nothing."

"Then I suppose we can get on with the lesson?" he barked.

"Yes, sir," she said, nodding and pulling out her wand.

Later at breakfast, Melanie could barely lift her fork to put eggs in her mouth. Rose and Al watched her warily.

"Are you all right, Melanie?" asked Al.

"I'm fine!" she snapped.

"Whoa," muttered Rose. "Touchy, much?"

"I'm. Not. Touchy," she said loudly. The Royal Group seventh years entered with a bang. Literally. Firecrackers exploded in the Great Hall ceiling as they walked in, Fred with his giddy smile, Xander with a softer one, Molly Weasley, someone Melanie hadn't gotten to speak to, and Noah, with a stony, hard expression.

"_What_ happened to him?" wondered Rose, staring at Noah.

"I don't know," Melanie answered through gritted teeth. She would not feel guilty. Noah had taken advantage of her. She had sworn to herself when she had seen him making flirty comments towards the Queen Miss Priss Ashley that she'd never get involved with this boy. Hot, cocky boys had always been her weakness, and at Hogwarts, she planned to change that.

"I have never seen Noah without a smile," said Al, looking wholly shocked.

Whispers were beginning to erupt throughout the Hall. Melanie could practically feel the rumor vibe spreading through each person's blood as they began to theorize. Myra settled into the seat next to Melanie.

"He's been like that since morning," she murmured to her. "Do you think any of the stuff about last night was actually true?"

"What, that he's actually into Professor Scroll?" Melanie scoffed. "Yeah. Right. And I'm into Professor Nesbaum."

"You're into Professor Nesbaum!" cried James loudly in mock outrage. "No wonder you rejected me!" She shot him a spiteful glare as more whispers fluttered all through the Great Hall.

"She just seems to reject all the guys, doesn't she?" drawled Noah dryly.

"I'm going to go to class now," said Melanie loudly, ignoring Noah. Casting her eyes down, she stood up, gathered her books, and stalked out of the Great Hall without looking back.

"But…but we don't have class for another hour!" Al called after her, thoroughly confused.

Melanie heard footsteps behind her and whirled around yelling, "I don't want to talk to you, Noah—oh."

Before her stood a smirking Myra. "Do you have something to say to me? Or Noah?"

With a frown, Melanie turned away and continued walking. "Neither."

"Oh, come on," she complained, yanking Melanie's arm back. "What happened there? The guys are all idiots, so they didn't notice the obvious hostility."

Surrendering, Melanie sighed and leaned back against the wall, covering her face with her hands. "Noah kissed me last night," she mumbled.

"WHAT?"

"Shh! Do you want the school to start whispering about this?" Melanie hissed.

"Sorry. But seriously, what?"

"Noah kissed me. Like, he came down around two in the morning, said he was talking about me and not Professor Scroll, and he _kissed_ me!"

"What did you do?" asked Myra, wide-eyed.

"I rejected him, obviously," Melanie scoffed shortly. "Why would say yes to him?"

"Did you kiss him back?"

"Of course I did. Have you seen him? A boy like that throws himself at you, you don't pull away without having a little taste."

Myra giggled. "The taste wasn't worth the whole dish?" she teased.

"It absolutely was not," said Melanie firmly. "I'm not getting involved with guys like that. Ever."

"The girls were right," noted Myra with a grin.

"What? What girls?"

"Noah was _definitely_ your conquest."

"He was _not_!" cried Melanie, slightly offended.

"Melanie, no girl has ever made Noah act like this. Ever. In his whole seven years at Hogwarts. There has never been a girl who made him angry like that," she explained.

"I don't care," said Melanie stubbornly. "It's not gonna happen. He's got a better chance with Professor Scroll than he's got with me."

Myra laughed. "I do hope that's not true."

"Seriously?" Melanie asked skeptically. "You think I'm gonna actually say yes to Noah?"

"Melanie, you're looking for something casual right?"

She nodded.

"Noah's all about that! You can just date for a bit, he's going to leave Hogwarts anyway, and then you break up! No big deal. No need to get all feelingsy."

"Yeah...don't give me relationship advice until you've worked out your own feelings for James."

Myra frowned. "James? What are you talking about?"

With a grin, Melanie shrugged. "You tell the Miss Prisses they don't know who you're into, but you know the truth is that you like James. A lot. It was pretty obvious last night—"

"I had alcohol in my system," she snarled. "You must've just seen something that wasn't there."

"Oh, stop it. James is your weakness, Myra. Just give in to it. You're going to Hogsmeade with him this weekend, aren't you?"

Myra fell silent and turned slightly pink.

"I thought so," she chuckled.

"We're going as friends," Myra insisted. "Because that's what we are. Friends. Don't make it more than it is."

"Is that what you tell yourself whenever you get all those butterflies?" Melanie teased.

Before Myra could retort, Rose and Al turned the corner and came upon them.

"There you are!" cried Rose. "Why'd you run off like that?"

"Noah _kissed_ her," said Myra giddily.

"MYRA!"

"He WHAT?" shouted Al.

"He kissed you?" repeated Rose, shocked.

"Yes, but I rejected him," Melanie responded dismissively. "Myra, you suck."

Happily, Myra smiled and did a mini dance. "I know you love me."

* * *

As they headed back towards Gryffindor Tower, Rose and Al remained in a complete state of shock. "He _kissed_ you?" they kept saying, one after another, sometimes together.

"Why'd you reject him?" asked Rose wonderingly. "Who would ever reject Noah Prewett?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" replied Melanie, amused. "He's not the only attractive boy in the world, you know."

"Yes, but…but he's _Noah_," she said longingly. "He's, like, one of the only people in our group who isn't related to us!"

"_That's_ what makes him desirable?" Melanie could barely contain her laughter. "The fact that he doesn't share your blood?"

"Well, he probably is related to us from a distance," Al pointed out.

"Yeah, but all the pureblood families are interrelated. It doesn't count when the distance is so huge like it is with Noah." Rose waved the comment away flippantly.

"How is he related to you?" asked Melanie.

"Well our grandma Weasley was a Prewett before she was married, and Noah's grandfather is like _her_ grandma's fourth cousin's son or something."

"Yeah, Rose is right. That doesn't count. So you want him, huh, Rose?"

"What?" cried Rose, her voice jumping a few octaves. "What's that mean? I don't want anything."

"Sure," teased Melanie, elbowing her lightly. "Noah _is_ one of the most attractive boys at Hogwarts."

Slightly panicked, Rose shook her head frantically. "No. No. He's much too old. It'd be weird. And gross. Stop it. Ew."

Melanie laughed and said, "Okay, relax. Nothing's gonna happen between me and him anyway."

"Well, nothing serious, anyway," said Al.

"What do you mean by _that_?" Melanie responded sharply.

Putting his hands up in defense, Al shrugged. "I don't know. Noah's always been the casual type. I can tell that you are, too. So maybe you'll just, I dunno, hook up a little and then call it off."

"I would not shag Noah Prewett!" Melanie snarled. "Watch what you're implying."

"He didn't imply it, he pretty much said it outright," said Rose, entertained.

"Shut up, Rose."

"Shut up, Rose."

"I only meant you'd just date him casually, Melanie," Al explained nervously. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Melanie sighed. She didn't enjoy this talk of dating or relationships, casual or serious. Talk of the heart always made her think of her father's death, which was constantly and cruelly eating away at hers. "Whatever. You didn't offend me. I don't really wanna talk about Noah anymore."

"All right. We can just get on with classes, then," suggested Rose.

"We've got Winter Ball decorations tonight," Al reminded them. "A lot of people are volunteering, and you're the center of gossip right now, Melanie."

Realizing this to be absolutely and unfortunately true, Melanie groaned. "Dammit."

Finally, they arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room and headed into their dorms to gather their things for class.

* * *

All day, Melanie had been so lost in her thoughts about the kiss that she was barely paying attention to anything or anyone. She strolled into Charms, absolutely not paying attention to anything that was going on, and settled into a seat next to Mason George, the fourth year Ravenclaw.

"So you kissed Noah?" he whispered.

Startled, she turned to him. "_What_?"

Mason shrugged. "It's been everywhere," he said.

"That bastard," she growled, planning on severely torturing and killing Noah. Granted, she knew about zero hexes, but she figured she'd just do it the Muggle way. Knives and corkscrews could do it.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure Noah didn't say anything," Mason said confidently.

"And why would you say that?"

"Because, despite his huge success with girls, Noah's never been one to kiss and tell," replied Mason.

"Really?" Melanie was intrigued. She would have never guessed that about Noah. He seemed like a boast-your-conquest kind of guy.

"Also, judging by his face earlier today, you rejected him," said Mason with a grin.

"So?" she snapped.

"So, Noah would never tell anyone that he was humiliated like that. The new girl rejects the hottest guy at Hogwarts? It's like inviting people to make fun of him. His whole reputation would be ruined."

"How would it be ruined?" asked Melanie.

"Because basically, it would get around that Noah could only get girls from Hogwarts. Girls who haven't really been out in the world and seen other guys besides the ones they live with," Mason explained. "You've seen other guys all your life, and you're not interested in the hottest guy here? That only proves that he's not as hot as he's made out to be."

"Oh." That made sense. She felt smug; Mason had just shown her a new power she had. "So if I do choose someone here," she said coyly, "will he be the most revered person in the school?"

"Oh yes," said Mason, nodding vigorously. "Your opinion is the most valued one in the Hogwarts gossip chain."

She grinned widely, but her smile was wiped off her face when Mason asked, "Where's your Charms assignment?"

Oh hell. With all the chaos that had intruded her brain all day, she'd forgotten her Charms assignment in her dormitory. Loudly, she let out a groan.

Mason chuckled knowingly. "You forgot it."

"Yes," she grumbled.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly. "Professor Snell will let you turn it in later."

"Ugh, I better go ask her." Dread filled her as she approached Professor Snell at the front of the room. Unfortunately, no one could ever predict the Charms teacher's behavior—it all depended on her mood, which was often very drastically changing.

"Er, Professor?" Melanie began tentatively.

Professor Snell turned to her with a bright smile. "Yes, Miss Daniels?"

For a moment, Melanie was relieved. "See, I forgot my Charms assignment in my dorm, so do you think it'd be okay if I could just run up there and bring it back quickly?"

Professor Snell's smile disappeared. "What?"

"Er," squeaked Melanie.

"How do you forget a Charms assignment when you come to Charms class?" she barked.

"I-I'm sorry," Melanie murmured.

"Fine. Just go get it." Turning away, Professor Snell pulled out her wand to begin class.

"Er—"

"NOW!"

Without another word, Melanie hurried out of the classroom and ran all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. Breathlessly, she let the portrait door close behind her and ran up to her dormitory. Clutching her charms paper in her hand, she was almost out of the common room when—

"Melanie?"

She turned to face the person she most didn't want to see.

"Noah." Melanie set her jaw.

His expression was just as stony. "What are you doing here?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm a Gryffindor, Noah. I live here."

"Don't you have class?" he asked, confused.

With a sigh, she replied, "Yes. But that's _my_ business."

"Oh. Oh, I see," he said crossly. "When you said you didn't want me to know you, you meant it really literally."

"Yes. I did," she snapped. Why couldn't he just accept that she wasn't ready to date anyone? Why couldn't he just let it go?

"What are you afraid of?" Noah challenged her.

"Afraid?" she repeated, outraged.

"Yeah. What is it that scares you about trying something with me?"

"I'm not scared, Noah," she said defensively.

"Yeah. Sure you're not." He shrugged and turned away.

"I'm not scared!" she shouted.

"Uh-huh. I heard you."

"I'm NOT!" She hurled her body at him, toppling over on top of the sofa, and wrestled him down so she could sit on him and kiss him wildly.

When they finally came up for air, he said breathlessly, "Bloody wow."

"Shut up," she muttered, and went back for more. After several minutes of nonstop snogging, Melanie fell off the sofa onto the rug in front of the fireplace.

Chuckling, Noah offered her a hand. "You all right?"

Gasping heavily, she didn't take it. "No. No I'm not. I-I've got to go. I've got to go." She struggled to her feet, grabbed the several sheets of crumpled parchment that was her Charms paper, and scampered out of the room, leaving Noah with his mouth hanging open.

* * *

Luckily for Melanie, Professor Snell had been in a much better mood when she had returned to class, and accepted her essay warmly. Melanie would never understand that woman. After Charms, she, Rose, and Al headed back to Gryffindor Tower. When they entered, Melanie was relieved to find it packed.

"What is going on?" she said.

"Looks like everyone's just on break from class, coincidentally," said Al. "Weird."

"Yeah, it looks like everyone from Gryffindor is here," Rose commented.

"Wait," said Al warily, leading them to the center of the room. There sat Lucy Weasley, a second year, sobbing and shaking as she clutched her hands to her ears.

"What the hell happened?" Melanie whispered, alarmed. "Isn't that Molly's sister?"

"Everyone, just calm down!" Fred was shouting, raising his hands up to mute the crowd. Melanie pushed her way to the front with Rose and Al and approached Myra.

"What's going on?" she asked her. "What happened to Lucy?"

Angry, Myra shrugged. "We don't know. She's just been totally hysterical. She came into the common room like this, crying and screaming and covering her ears like that. Molly and Fred have been trying to get through to her."

Melanie's brow furrowed. She noticed Lily Potter crying silently in the corner, looking frightened out of her wits. Nobody else seemed to see her, so Melanie made her way over to her.

"Hi, there," she said gently, sitting down next to her. "You worried about Lucy?"

Lily cast her a dirty look. "I'm not five. You don't need to talk to me like that."

Cringing, Melanie said, "Sorry. I'm just—bad at dealing with scared people. Not great in a crisis, y'know?"

With a sniffle, Lily nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm just, just yeah, scared about Lucy."

"Well, your family is like, one of the coolest I've ever seen. They'll make sure she's okay. Why haven't they taken her to the Hospital Wing?" she asked.

Lily answered, "Fred said something about not wanted to touch her. She came and sat on the sofa like that and hasn't even moved since. They're afraid if they touch her, they'll trigger something. James and Xander are over there trying to work out a safety spell. They're the smartest Gryffindors in the school."

"Oh bloody hell," cried Eden Bones, throwing herself on the sofa. "Shut up about not touching her! The poor girl is going to go into some serious state of shock, or hysteria, or-or something." Very gingerly, Eden attempted to take Lucy into her arms, but was thrown back against the wall and crumpled, unmoving.

Melanie jumped to her feet. Almost everyone in the room pulled out their wands as a precaution.

"Eden!" shouted Xander, moving to go to the back of the room, but James grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Xander, we're almost there. Come on, you can't waste time. We don't know if the curse is getting stronger," said James seriously.

"Maybe we should just-just put a Stunner on her!" cried Molly desperately. Rose and Al hurried over to her to clutch her shaking hands.

"Calm down, Molly. James will do this," Al reassured her, looking panicked.

"She's only twelve!" Molly said, her voice breaking. "Just a second year."

"I know," said Rose, rubbing her hand.

"I've got it!" shouted James, and without further ado, rushed over to the sofa and whispered a spell. Instantly, Lucy fell silent and stopped shaking, but she still held her hands to her ears frantically and looked terrified.

"All right," murmured Fred. "Myra, get the nurse."

Nearly ten minutes passed before Myra returned with an anxious Madam Pomfrey and a trembling Madam Daisy, a student doctor sort of nurse, behind her.

"Let me see, let me see," said Madam Pomfrey. "Oh dear. Daisy, you may go. This is…not for soft eyes."

On any other occasion, Madam Daisy would have protested, insisting on the value of learning being more important, but one look at Lucy Weasley's small, petrified face sent her away. She tended to the unconscious Eden instead.

"Miss Weasley? Lucy, dear, can you hear me?" asked Madam Pomfrey gently. She reached a hand forward.

"You might not want to touch her," interjected Fred. "She sent Eden flying into that wall."

"Don't be silly," she tutted. "I already know what curse this is. You've tamed it. I can touch her now."

"We did it?" whispered James in awe.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you did. But I advise you not to attempt such a dangerous spell again. You should have come straight to me." She looked up at him reproachfully.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey."

"All right," she said, standing up. With a quick wave of her wand, she put Lucy out like a light. "It'll be better to leave her unconscious for this. The curse is very painful and frightening. I'll have the countercurse potion brewed in two days."

"Two days?" protested Molly. "Why will it take so long?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley." She sounded truly regretful. "Someone will need to be with her at all times. I would like for there to be a family member around, but Daisy is there in case nobody can make it."

"Please," scoffed Rose. "Half of us here are family."

"And the rest are close enough," added Myra.

"That is true." Madam Pomfrey looked around at the whole of Gryffindor House that had gathered to support Lucy Weasley. "While the potion brews, we will need to feed her painkilling potions on a regular basis. She will be unable to communicate with us, and unable to understand us. It's like she's in a bad dream. Nothing is going to make sense to her."

"Bloody hell," said Al shakily.

"Agreed," murmured Rose.

"Right, well, I shall need about three people who are strong with spells. For each girl," she added, glancing over at Eden.

"Will Eden be okay?" asked Xander hoarsely.

"She'll be fine," said Madam Daisy enthusiastically. "It'll just take some Renervating potions to wake her up, and then some healing potions to get the stuff out of her system. Should be no problem!"

Madam Pomfrey sighed exasperatedly. She would never really get used to Madam Daisy's constant gusto. Gathering up a few of the family members, she led them out of the common room towards the Hospital Wing.

A few people from the Royal Group remained, including Melanie, Albus, Rose, and Fred.

"You know that Spook did this, don't you?" hissed Fred.

Al and Rose nodded gravely.

"We're gonna get him, Fred," said Rose.

"Yeah, he's not gonna get away," said Al.

"We are coming for you, Spook," muttered Fred, partially to himself. His tone sent shivers through Melanie's spine, and, for a moment, she feared for the gangster boy. Then, she thought back to Lucy's terrified face, and her fear was gone.

* * *

**A/N:** Sooo stuff with Noah and Melanie is still at a standstill. And what's with Myra and James? We also have the return of Spook! Will there be a open fight in the next chapter? I cannot confirm that but what I can tell you to expect is a LOT of Miss Priss action, along with Hogsmeade weekend (which will be quite eventful) and a secret is revealed.

Keep reading and keep reviewing!

~Maya


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** So sorry that it's been forever, but I was trying to write a bunch of chapters so that I have enough material that lets me post more often. Now that that's done, you'll get your chapters more and more quickly! Please review so that I'll post more!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 10

When Lucy began to stir, a collective murmur of relief passed through the fifteen or so people standing around her. Three long, painful days had passed since she'd been cursed, and it had made huge news in Hogwarts. Everyday students dropped into the Hospital Wing on their way to class to pay Lucy and whatever family she had with her a visit. The Winter Ball appeared to be postponed, because nobody had showed up to decorate. Professor McGonagall and all the other Hogwarts teachers were putting all their efforts into finding whoever harmed Lucy Weasley.

Melanie watched as her friends hovered over Lucy's bed. She had stirred three times in the last half hour, and everyone had their fists clenched and their breaths held.

"It was Spook!" cried James, frustrated.

"I can't believe we can't pin the bastard down for this one," said Fred with a stony face.

Molly was shaking with fury, so much that she was unable to say anything.

As much as they had tried to convince the Hogwarts staff that Spook had cursed Lucy, there had been several eye witnesses that placed the Slytherin in their common room that entire night. He hadn't even come down for dinner.

"How the hell did he do this?" said Xander, shaking his head. "I don't understand. He definitely did it, but even Scorpius swears that Spook was in the Slytherin Common Room all night."

"He can't be lying," said Al. "When Scorpius told me he'd keep an eye on Spook, he meant it. I don't think he's spent so much time with the Slytherins since he started Hogwarts."

"That's true," said Roxanne, one of the cousins Melanie had never spoken to. "Scorpius doesn't really enjoy hanging out with them. If he's doing it now, it's definitely to check out Spook."

"Er, if you all don't mind my asking…" murmured Melanie from the corner.

"Oh! Oh, sorry, Melanie," said Al. "Scorpius Malfoy is one of the people we hang out with."

"One of the Royal Group, you mean?" she said.

Al chuckled. "Yeah. One of the—Royal Group. Anyway, he's a Slytherin, and he became friends with me and Rose in Herbology second year. He's not really into hanging out with everyone. Mostly just me and Rose."

"That name sounds kinda familiar to me," said Melanie, partially to herself.

"Yeah, you probably read it during your newspaper binge," Al snickered. "The Malfoys were pretty huge Death Eaters during the Second War."

Melanie raised her eyebrows. "Do I need to ask?"

Al sighed. "Do any of you wanna explain?"

Roxanne laughed. "Al gets tired of explaining this," she said to Melanie. "A very tiny part of the family is reformed. That tiny part is Scorpius Malfoy and his parents."

"Okay," she said with a shrug. "Was that really so hard to say, Al?"

"Now that you mention it, Roxy did a better job at it than I would have done," said Al, looking at Roxanne with a joking reverence. "How did you do that? Merlin only knows how I would've rambled."

"No, Al, we all know how you would've rambled. We've seen it before," Roxanne giggled. "And don't call me Roxy."

"Noah calls you Roxy," he muttered with a sly grin.

"Don't go there," she said, blushing slightly.

"What is it with everyone having a crush on Noah!" cried Melanie.

"You're on that list," Al pointed out.

Looking startled, Roxanne turned to Melanie to say something, but was interrupted by Lucy mumbling, "Wh-where am I? Washapnin?"

"Oh, Lucy!" cried Molly in a strangled whisper. "Merlin, I—Xander, could you please go write to my mum? Tell her everything's all right now. Please."

Without a word, Xander jumped down from the bed he was sitting on and left the Hospital Wing.

"Oh, hell, Hogwarts is gonna have a field day with this," said James as he rushed into Madame Pomfrey's quarters.

"Lucy, Lucy, are you okay? How are you feeling? Can you understand me? How many fingers is this?" Molly rambled desperately, holding up three fingers on a shaky hand.

"Molly? Is that you?" Lucy slurred. "Quit doing that. I c-can't focus if you ask m-me so many questions."

Molly let out a laugh broken by tears.

Though she'd thought she was mostly detached from the situation, Melanie found herself letting out a sigh of relief.

"James was right, I'm gonna go do some damage control, try to keep people from realizing she's totally awake," said Fred, also rushing out of the Hospital Wing.

Madame Pomfrey came out of her office immediately, carrying three vials in one hand and her wand in the other. "All right, all right, everyone out of my way now!" she cried. "Lucy, dear, how are you?"

"M'fine," Lucy mumbled, attempting a smile.

"Well, you're going to be right as rain in a moment, all right?" she said gently.

Lucy nodded vaguely.

"I need everyone but Molly Weasley out of the Wing, now!" said Madame Pomfrey.

"What?" protested James. "But we—"

"_Now_, Mr. Potter," she said firmly.

Glancing over their shoulders the whole way, the group made their way out the door.

* * *

After two weeks, the chaos had not died down in the least. Everybody everywhere was trying to find out who had hurt Lucy: The staff was searching for a culprit, and Hogwarts students were searching for a scapegoat. Because of this, Melanie thought that all the students would immediately point fingers at Spook, given his public threat at the Killer party and that Hogwarts was a gossip chain, but even the gossip chain was having difficulty blaming him for the incident. Many Slytherins claimed that Spook had been in their common room all night, but once Scorpius Malfoy confirmed this with absolute authority, he had the support of the entire Royal Group, and therefore the rest of Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall, who had firmly declared that students were to "move on" from the incident and continue as normally as possible, reintroduced the winter festivities, which left Melanie, Al, and Rose stuck in the Great Hall making decorations. Much of fourth year had joined them, and the surprising appearance of Noah Prewett brought with it a variety of students from other years. It was obvious to Al and Rose that Melanie was nervous because of his presence, but as he spent the entire time working on the other side of the room, the question never came up.

"Merlin, you all brought the lot this year, didn't you?" said Professor Scroll, who was overseeing the activity.

"We were forced into this," Rose explained with a smile.

"And it wasn't really us who brought all the people here," Al pointed out, gesturing across the room at Noah.

Professor Scroll looked over at him and smiled tenderly. "That boy's a sweet one, isn't he?"

Melanie scoffed. "Sure."

"Do you not like him, Melanie?" said Professor Scroll.

"I haven't got a problem with him," she said coolly as she gave up on the spell to cut filmy paper into a snowflake shape and began attacking the paper with her hands.

Rose laughed, "Melanie, let me help you with that."

"I've got it, thanks," she replied curtly.

"Blimey, Melanie, you scared her away," Al whispered, watching Professor Scroll make her way across the room.

"Seriously, what's going on with you and Noah?" said Rose. "I've never seen him do anything like this."

"Me neither, and we've known him since he started Hogwarts," Al added.

"Nothing's going on!" cried Melanie, throwing the paper into the air exasperatedly. "I don't like him! Just, why can't anyone bloody accept that? Why does everyone in Hogwarts have to know everybody's business? Why can't everyone just leave me alone!"

With that, she abandoned the decorations and stormed out of the room, leaving the fifty or so people in the Great Hall to stare after her, openmouthed, and whisper.

"If what she really wants is to be left alone, that scene was not a good idea," Al muttered, returning to the filmy paper.

"She doesn't want to be left alone," said Rose wisely, already molding the metals into shiny ornaments with her wand.

Al stared at her enviously. "How do you do that?"

She glanced at him, then shrugged. "I dunno. I guess Transfiguration is just something I'm good at."

"Very good, Rose!" encouraged Professor Scroll, who had returned. "I hear your mother was quite good at Transfiguration, too."

"She was pretty much good at everything," said Rose disinterestedly.

"I did hear that as well," said Professor Scroll with a tinkling laugh. "Is Melanie all right? She caused quite a scene with the rest of the students. Merlin only knows when that gossip will die down."

"Teachers hear gossip?" Al asked wonderingly.

Again, Professor Scroll laughed. "Yes, we certainly do. We're not moles underground who only come up for a dry lesson, you know."

"Sorry," Al said, grinning sheepishly at her.

Just then, Noah came up to them. "I'm done with my stuff, Veronica," he muttered, avoiding meeting anyone's eye.

"Noah, I am Professor Scroll," she reminded him smilingly. "And that's great. I hope that when you leave you don't take the rest of this group with you."

He shrugged, not returning her smile, and exited the Great Hall, nobody following him but whispers. Professor Scroll continued walking around the room, presumably to convince the students to stay and decorate more.

"What did you mean, 'she doesn't want to be left alone?'" Al asked Rose as he made his first glass ornament.

"I meant, she only wants to be with one person," she replied, eyeing the giant doors that had just allowed an attractive seventh year boy to pass.

* * *

Noah walked into the common room mere minutes after Melanie had settled herself on the sofa, staring at the fire. She was thinking about her father.

Most of Gryffindor was in the Great Hall or somewhere else, so the common room was empty. They were alone together again.

Melanie let out a scoff; she was more than a little irritated that he had interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey," he spoke hollowly.

"What is your problem?" she bit back.

Noah shrugged, unfazed by her sharp tone. "Dunno," he said.

"What do you want? D'you wanna snog some more?" she said sarcastically.

"Kinda," he muttered, heading to the boys' dormitory.

"Wow. Bloody hell," she said, scoffing again.

"What's _your_ problem, Melanie?" Noah said, suddenly full of life.

"_WHAT?!_" Melanie screeched. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious," he said. "What is your problem? Why don't you want to hang out with me?"

"Hang out with you?" she repeated in disbelief. "Do you seriously mean that?"

"Yes, I mean hang out," he said. "Why the hell won't you—"

"Because _you_ don' t want to hang out, Noah," Melanie snarled. "You just come and snog me and you don't care you just want to have your fun and—"

"Bloody hell, slow down!" said Noah, slightly shocked, but now smiling. "Melanie, I-I want more than that. I don't…I just wanna be friends."

Thoroughly outraged, Melanie raised her eyebrows. "Noah, I don't know if anyone's told you this, but 'just friends' and 'snogging' aren't really meant to be done together."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. Look, I-I can't really explain myself. I just, I don't really know how I feel," he said apologetically. "And I don't know what to do when I feel like that."

"You really don't seem the kind of person who talks about his feelings," said Melanie skeptically. "This seems like a line to me."

"It's not!" he cried, falling onto the sofa next to her. "It's not a line, Melanie. I-I really don't know what to do!"

"Noah, I—" she said helplessly. Should she go out with him? If he was being honest with her right now, then there was a chance he was a decent guy. On the other hand, she knew she couldn't handle a relationship. But then again, neither could he.

Before she could finish her thoughts, out of nowhere he was kissing her and she was kissing him back and she completely let go—and it felt okay.

* * *

**A/N:** Let me just let you know, it's not what you'll expect. I hope you enjoyed it! New chapter coming soon.

~Maya


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** SO here I am with a new chapter, sooner than you expected! I hope you enjoy it. The story is going to begin to be pretty complex within the next few chapters, so get excited!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 11

Suddenly, Noah pulled away. With a strangled sigh, he leaned his head into his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. Melanie leaned back in the sofa and waited for him to gather himself.

Then, he looked up at her with rueful eyes and said, "I can't do this, Melanie."

She cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he grimaced. "Look, I just, I really would like to just be friends."

For some reason, Melanie did not feel upset in the least. Exasperatedly, she said, "Are you serious, Noah?"

"I'm really sorry," he repeated. "Please. I couldn't tell you why. I just, I just wanna be friends."

She had no idea why, but she smiled at him. "I'd like that, Noah. Just friends?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Merlin, I thought you were gonna kill me!"

Shoving him playfully, she let out a laugh. "Come on," she said, "you don't think I'd risk Azkaban prison over you?" It was relieving. Her attraction to Noah had been a struggle while he'd been interested in her, but if he didn't want anything it'd be easier for her to brush it off as just that-an attraction.

"Hmm, the Muggle girl knows about Azkaban," he teased, dodging her fist as it came to his face.

"I'm a witch," she said proudly.

"That's not what the decorations today were saying," he said, laughing.

"Shut up!" she cried, shoving him again.

He grinned his cocky grin, and then abruptly grew serious. "I've never had an actual girl friend before, Melanie," he said.

Melanie snorted. "Yeah, uh huh. Sure, you haven't."

"I'm serious!" he said. "I haven't."

"Noah, you're like Hogwarts Casanova. Of course you've had girlfriends. Don't try your vulnerable boy routine on me. We already decided to just be friends," said Melanie wearily.

"No, no! I meant friends who are girls," he explained.

"Oh." She paused. "Are you—really? Never?"

"Nope." With a wry smile, he shook his head.

"That," she took a pondering breath, "is unexpected. What about the Royal Group? Like the family people."

Rolling his eyes, Noah shrugged. "Melanie, none of the girls in the-the _Royal Group_ are related to me. So nearly all of them are into me," he said.

"Modest, you are."

"Shut up. You know what I mean," he said, shoving her this time.

Giggling, she nodded. "Yeah I do," she said apologetically. "But I'm sure some of them aren't into you. Myra Peyton, for one."

He turned to her, surprised. "What makes you think Myra isn't into me?" he asked.

"Well, she fancies James, doesn't she?"

Noah chuckled. "Damn right, she fancies James. If only the morons would get it. She's fancied him forever, you know," he told her knowingly.

"How long?"

"Oh, I dunno, since their third year, maybe?"

Melanie let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"Damn is correct."

"But anyway, isn't Myra your friend?" Melanie asked, bringing the conversation back to the initial topic.

"Er, well, most people don't know this…" he said uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm your friend, so you're now obligated to tell me," she said, grinning.

He rolled his eyes at her, and continued, "Myra doesn't like me."

"She doesn't like you? What's not to like?"

"Thanks," he smiled at her, "but she really, really does not like me. I don't even know why—I never did anything to her as far as I know. I didn't like, break her heart or anything—"

"Are you sure about that?" she teased.

"No, really," he insisted. "The people who do know think that's why, like we had a secret affair or something, but we didn't. Nothing like that. She's just never liked me."

"So why is she in the Royal Group? You're like, the leader and the most popular out of all of you," Melanie asked.

Noah merely gave her a look.

"Right. James. Got it."

He shrugged. "It's never really bothered me. I don't really know her. She just doesn't like me for apparently no reason."

"Well, all right," said Melanie. "Then I suppose I'll do you the honor of being your first friend who is a girl."

Noah looked at her, grinning. "I'm glad, Melanie. I'm glad."

* * *

The next day was Hogsmeade Saturday, and Melanie was relieved to get away from the ridiculous gossip that followed her around night and day. Some first years even stared and pointed openly at her while they whispered. If she could do satisfactory magic, Melanie might be tempted to curse them into oblivion, but for now she fantasized about dueling them the Muggle way: with her fists.

She was thankful that Al and Rose refrained from questioning her about the conversation she had obviously had with Noah the night before, even though it was clear that they were dying to know what had happened. So, they sat awkwardly at breakfast, exchanging pleasantries and odd looks (at least between Al and Rose), until Noah approached her in the middle of the table.

"Hey," he said with a smile.

"Hi."

Everyone's eyes were on them, including Al's and Rose's.

"You all wanna come with us to Hogsmeade?" he said, flashing his flirtatious smile at Rose. She gasped very slightly.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"I dunno," he said, shrugging. "Hogsmeade is something I do with my friends."

The people within earshot literally gaped, mouths wide open.

Smirking, Melanie replied after a moment, "Sure. We'll go. Yeah?" She turned to her friends.

Al cleared his throat and said, "Uh huh. Sure." Rose was still dumbstruck at the moment.

"Great," said Noah. "See you in the Entrance Hall."

She nodded and smiled, waving at him as he went back to his seat at the end of the table.

"Okay, that's it," said Rose, slamming her fists on the table.

Melanie jumped slightly. "Whoa, what?"

"You know exactly what, Melanie Daniels," said Al, glaring at her.

"What the hell happened last night?" Rose demanded.

She smiled mysteriously at them. "I'm not really sure," she teased, "but we're friends now."

"Yes, we can see that," said Rose sardonically.

"Come on, Melanie," Al begged. "We're, like, your best friends ever. We should know."

"Oh, God, ew," she said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "All right, all right. Just stop groveling. I'll tell you."

They cheered, causing people to turn around and stare, probably drawing ridiculously incorrect conclusions. Melanie glared at her friends.

"Thanks for that," she hissed.

"Not our problem," said Rose. "If you'd just gone ahead and told us earlier, that wouldn't be an issue."

With a sigh, she replied, "Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, basically all that happened was we talked and we kissed and we talked and we decided to be friends and that's it."

Al and Rose stared at her with open mouths. Glancing around in panic, Melanie hissed at them, "Close your bloody mouths! Do you want more gossip?!"

They closed their mouths abruptly. "Sorry, Melanie," Rose whispered. "But are you serious? All that-that drama, and you're just gonna be friends?"

Melanie shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," she said. "It was his idea, not mine."

"Noah Prewett has never been asked a girl to be just friends before," said Al in awe. "What did you do to him?"

"Unlike you guys, I don't really know him that well, and I didn't know him before I met him, _obviously_, so I can't answer that question."

Al stuck his tongue out at her. "I'd tell you it was a rhetorical question but you'd probably just find another way to mock me," he said.

"You know me so well," she quipped, and flashed a smile at him.

"Oh, shut up."

"Anyway, it's probably for the best," Melanie said as she took a bite of her eggs.

"Why do you say that?" asked Rose.

"Well," said Melanie, glancing on the other end of the table where a clump of redheads were laughing robustly. "I've been learning that a LOT of girls fancy Noah, you for example,"—Rose let out a cry of protest—"so I don't really want to get in anyone's way. A lot of people like him more than I do."

"That's true, but a lot of those girls don't really know him," Al pointed out. "They just like him cause he's attractive and popular."

"I know, but there are girls who actually know him and like him," said Melanie. "I'm talking about those girls."

"If you're talking about me, then don't worry about it," said Rose.

"I'm not, but what do you mean?" said Melanie.

"I mean that I like Noah, but it's just a crush. I know I'm never gonna be with him, nor do I really want to," she said.

"What? Why not?"

Rose shrugged indifferently. "When you get to know Noah, you start to get that you shouldn't go for him."

"Because he's a playboy?" said Melanie knowingly.

"No." Rose shook her head. "It's not because of that. It's—I can't really explain it. It's just what all the cousins say."

"That is actually true," Al agreed. "A lot of the cousins say not to go for Noah, especially the older ones."

"That sounds really bloody mysterious, but it's for another day," said Melanie. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. I wanna see a real Wizarding village."

* * *

While the giant group traipsed around Hogsmeade, Melanie paid close attention to Myra. Her arm was draped affectionately around James's shoulders, and she was laughing along with everyone else, but whenever Noah said something, the light would disappear from her eyes. As she watched James check out girls passing them by, Melanie felt her heart break slightly for her friend. It was so very obvious that Myra was head-over-heels in love with James Potter.

"So, is Molly still back at home with Lucy?" asked Rose.

"Yeah," said Fred, nodding his head. "She's gonna stay for a couple more weeks. Aunt Audrey was pretty disturbed—she's insisting."

"What about Uncle Percy?" said Al. "Is he doing okay?"

"Mostly," said Fred. "Knowing him, he'd be more focused on making Aunt Audrey and Molly feel better now that Lucy's pretty much all right."

"I'd really, really like to meet this family one day," said Melanie. It was the truth; the largeness and the closeness of this family seemed like something one should witness if given the chance. Immediately, the group swelled with enthusiastic cries.

"Of course!"

"We'd love for you to come!"

"You're seriously gonna love it."

"The family is wonderful."

"It's amazing, Melanie," said Myra. "Their family is, like, the most welcoming group of people I've ever seen."

"Come for Christmas," Al encouraged.

"You know, I think I might," said Melanie thoughtfully. It would really be nice for her mother to spend her time with such loving people. "When would it be best for you?"

Rose laughed. "That is the most ridiculous question I've heard in a while."

"Grandma Weasley rules the family," Al said. "And once we tell her you're coming for Christmas, you'll be staying for a week."

"Er, I don't want to impose," Melanie said hesitantly.

"Yeah...the word 'impose' isn't really in the family's vocabulary," said Fred, grinning.

"Agreed. My family's staying at the Burrow for about two days," said Xander. "And those two days are Christmas Eve and Christmas day."

"Don't you all need family time or something?" said Melanie.

"Oh, no, they're all about family time," Myra said. "It's just, they consider literally _everyone_ family."

"Are you staying there, too?" Melanie asked her.

"Damn right, she is," said James, putting an arm around her waist. Everyone but James noticed Myra blush.

"All right, well, I'll talk to my mum," said Melanie.

"To warn her?" said Fred.

"Er, no, to ask her if—"

"No, there will be no asking," Rose assured her.

"But—"

"Seriously, Melanie," said Al. "Warn her that she'll be getting an owl from Mrs. Molly Weasley letting her know that there will be a room ready for you and her around Christmas day."

"Oh, no, if Xander's family is already gonna be there Christmas day—"

"I'd advise you not to argue," said Rose.

"She's right, Melanie," said Noah. "My family's there for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, too."

"So's mine," said Myra. "Except we're only coming for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day lunch, and then we'll have to leave."

"What?" James protested. "Why? Nobody told me about this."

"I just did," said Myra humorously. "We're travelling to Finland to see my uncle."

"Grandma Weasley's just gonna insist he come here," said James.

"No, my mum's already talked to Mrs. Weasley. My uncle really can't come," said Myra.

"Why the hell not?" demanded James.

"Because he's really ill with scrofungulus and the Healers aren't letting him leave," she explained.

James fell silent.

"I'm sorry, Myra," said Noah.

She avoided his eye. "It's all right. I don't know him too well."

Noah nodded and looked away.

Melanie glanced at her watch. "Oh hell, I've got to go meet my mum! I'll see you all in a bit!" With that, she hurried away.

* * *

Mrs. Daniels had been overjoyed to see her daughter smiling, and had agreed heartily to staying with the Weasleys during the Christmas vacation.

"It'll be lovely to be with some happy people for a change," she had said enthusiastically.

"I thought so, too," Melanie had agreed. She'd noticed that her mother had cut and dyed her hair—in short, light brown layers. She looked several years younger and more relaxed than she had when Melanie had left.

Later that evening, back in the dormitories, Melanie pondered this. Could her mother be possibly dating a new man? Was it possible she'd moved on from her husband's death so quickly? The idea made Melanie extremely uncomfortable; her parents had been happily married and in love, and it seemed wrong that her mother could forget him so soon when Melanie was struggling so much with it.

Rose stepped out of the bathroom and started slightly when she saw Melanie sitting on her bed, staring into space.

"Merlin, Melanie, what are you doing?" she said, rubbing her hair with a fluffy towel.

Melanie fell out of her reverie and looked Rose properly in the face before shrugging apathetically. "Nothing," she replied.

"All right," said Rose, now brushing her hair. "Can I ask you something, Melanie?"

With a ponderous sigh, she lay back on her bed and gazed up at the ceiling. "Ask away."

"Where's your dad?"

Shocked, Melanie sat upright and stared at Rose. "What?"

"I'm sorry," Rose amended. "I-I should've been more, er, tactful, I suppose. I'm sorry."

"What did you mean?" Melanie demanded.

"Just—you only ever say anything about your mother. You've never said anything about your dad. So I-I was just wondering…" Rose trailed off, looking extremely apologetic.

For a moment, Melanie considered lying. She considered telling Rose that her father had died many years ago and she had barely ever known him, so she didn't talk about him very often because there was nothing to talk about. She considered saying that her father had left her mother and she hated talking about him. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't taint her father's memory that way.

"He-he died," she said, her voice cracking. "He died in summer. In-in the car accident. The one that m-made me a witch." Tears brimmed her eyes.

"Oh, Melanie," Rose whispered. She came and sat next to her and wrapped her arms around her shaking friend. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's all right," Melanie murmured. "I'm doing all right."

"I'm so sorry we've been bugging you with the shallowness of our lives for so long," she said. "I can't believe you've been dealing with it like this."

Melanie shrugged. "To be honest, it kind of helps," she admitted.

Rose pulled away and held Melanie at arm's length. "Really?"

"Yeah," said Melanie, nodding. "It does. I-I dunno if you've noticed, but I'm not a needy person. I'd really rather deal with this thing on my own. So going on like normal—you know, gossip, drama, boys—it makes it easier. I don't have to think about it all the time. I can-I can get over it slowly."

Thoughtfully, Rose nodded. "That makes sense," she said. Then, she smiled. "So tell me about this new so-called friendship, with Noah…"

* * *

**A/N:** So now that Melanie's come clean to at least one person, her fieriness will cool down a little bit. That is, until someone lights her up again! I'll post again soon, remember to review!

~Maya


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, because it's definitely going to get interesting after this.

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 12

The air was crisp and cold, and even through the heavy red and gold scarves, Melanie could feel it bite her cheeks. This was her first ever Quidditch match. Even though she was so new to Hogwarts, she still found herself cheering her heart out for Gryffindor as the players stepped out onto the field.

Rose had been making every effort to ease the pain of Melanie's loss; though she didn't show it, Melanie knew. She'd only come to the Quidditch match on Rose's request, as she had been very persistent. When she'd realized Melanie hadn't come to the first match because she'd been sick in the Hospital Wing, she simply would not take no for an answer.

"It's so cold out here," Melanie complained.

"Shut up," said Rose. "You love this."

Rolling her eyes, she grinned. "Yeah. I do. I really hate myself for being so sick last time."

"Yeah, seriously, Melanie," teased Al. "I can't believe you missed the first match. Loser."

Laughing, she shoved her friend. "Shut up, Al_bus_. If I asked you anything at all about Muggle sports you'd be like a little kid learning how to talk."

"Yeah, but so would everyone else here," he pointed out. "So that still makes you the loser."

A few days ago, she would have rolled her eyes in irritation, but these days, Melanie was feeling calmer and calmer.

"You don't even like Quidditch that much," she said, smirking.

"What?" said Rose, shocked. "Are you serious, Al?"

"Er, no?" he squeaked.

"ALBUS!" Rose shrieked, smacking his arm. "How can you not like Quidditch?"

"Ow! Blimey, I'm sorry! I just-just don't like it that much, okay?" he cried, protecting his face from her swatting hands.

"How did no one ever know this?" Rose asked, looking grumpy as she gave up trying to hit him.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe because you'd all react LIKE THAT?" said Al sarcastically.

The redhead laughed, and then let out an appreciative whistle as she watched the Gryffindor Quidditch team mount their brooms. "I've got to say," she commented, "our Quidditch players are beyond smoking."

"Yeah, seriously," Melanie agreed. "Who are they, anyway?"

"Well you can see the Chasers, right? There's James, and Seymour Peyton—that's Myra's brother—and Julian Winslow. He's in fifth year, so we don't ever have classes with him, but he was so close to being Captain."

"Who's Captain?" said Melanie.

Rose merely stared at her.

"What?"

"You're joking, right?" she said, astonished.

"No, I'm not. I told you, I was sick the first match, and I've never actually talked about it with anyone," she replied.

With a frustrated groan, Rose said, "Please, do not tell anyone you didn't know who was Captain!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's James," said a voice behind her, and she turned to face a grinning Noah. "And James will be the most insecure, self-conscious bastard in the whole world if he finds out the new girl did not know he was Captain."

"Exactly," said Rose. "So just keep quiet."

"What's so wrong with an insecure James? I think it'd go well with his cute image," she joked.

Both Rose and Noah exchanged looks and said together, "No it wouldn't."

"Seriously," advised Al. "Just keep quiet."

A commotion had broken out into the field. It appeared that Gryffindor was missing a player. They watched as the six red-and-gold-clad teenagers huddled in a circle and argued. Suddenly, a tan-skinned boy with dark red hair came running out of the Quidditch locker rooms.

"What the hell was Fred doing for so long?" said Rose.

"It is not like him at all to do that," said Al. "He takes Quidditch seriously, he does."

"Aaaaaand they're off!" cried the commentator.

The four of them turned their attentions back to the match. Melanie was on the edge of her seat—they were flying so fast!

"So who are the rest of the players?" she shouted over the cheers; Gryffindor had just scored.

"The Beaters—the ones who deal with the flying balls, the Bludgers—are Fred and Myra!" cried Rose.

She had noticed Fred zooming around the Pitch faster than anybody. Clearly, he was one of the best on the team.

"And the Keeper by the hoops there is Hillary Fiennes. She's in sixth year, and damn, would I like to get some of that," said Noah, looking over to the Keeper's position.

"Shut up, Noah!" yelled Rose. "And last is the Seeker! He's over there—Sydney Thomas—OH MERLIN LOOK AT HIM GO!"

"AND THERE GOES THOMAS, THE GRYFFINDOR SEEKER! LOOK AT HIM FLY ACROSS THE PITCH! NO WAY THE RAVENCLAW SEEKER CAN MATCH THAT!" The crowd was beside itself.

"Blimey, this looks like the fastest match we've had in, like, ever, right?" said Noah.

Just then, a puffy-eyed Roxanne Weasley took a seat next to him. "Is-is the match over already?" she said in a slightly slurred voice.

"Whoa," said Noah. "You okay?"

"F-fine," she muttered, wiping her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, it'll be over soon," he replied, still alarmed. "Roxy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said in a broken voice. "I'm fine, all right?"

As the referee blew the whistle and Sydney Thomas circled the pitch, gripping the Golden Snitch victoriously in his hand, Noah stood up, helping Roxanne to her feet, and the two exited the Pitch before the crowd finished reacting to the match.

"Is she all right?" said Melanie, concerned. She didn't know Roxanne Weasley very well, but the Weasley family had been nothing but kind to her, so she had developed a close feeling towards the entirety of it.

"Of course not," said Rose. "But Noah will deal with it better than any of us can."

"And the boy told me he never had a female friend," Melanie scoffed.

"That's a total lie," said Al. "Roxanne may fancy the hell out of him, but they're, like, the closest friends ever."

"Closer than you and Rose?"

"Ew!"

"Gross!"

"Me and Rose?"

"Me and AL? Close?"

"That's disgusting."

"Seriously, Melanie, get it together."

Melanie laughed and rolled her eyes, counting her blessing to have friends like these.

* * *

There was an after-match party in the Gryffindor Common Room with food and drink Melanie had never seen before in her life. After questioning Al and Rose on every single item to the point of total and complete irritation, she finally decided to try a bit of everything. Her friends were more than a little frustrated with that decision.

"Honestly, Melanie," said Al as they settled into some chairs in the corner. "You'd think you'd know a little something about the wizarding world after this many months."

"It's like you're still a Muggle," Rose teased.

"Speaking of which, Granddad Weasley is gonna piss himself when he meets you," added Al, grinning knowingly at Rose.

"What…does that mean?" said Melanie.

"Let's just say that Granddad Weasley is…a Muggle enthusiast," said Rose with a laugh.

"No, come on, what does that mean?" Melanie repeated.

Before they could quip another answer at her, Myra traipsed up to them, carrying an almost empty bottle of firewhiskey.

"Oh, bloody hell. Bloody, bloody hell," she said in a slurred voice. "That…that was an-an awesome match, that was. So awesome. So bloody awesome."

"Myra," said Al, trying to hold back laughter. "You might wanna turn in early."

"_What_? No, come on," she said, her voice jumping octaves. "I'm gunna have, like, th'best night _ev_er."

"Oh, Myra!" cried James, swooping in from behind her and seizing her by the waist. "How are you doing, there?"

"She's doing drunk," said Al, giving his brother a warning look. Melanie took this to mean, 'Don't take advantage of her when she's like this, prat.'

"Come on, Al," said James with a smile. "You know I'm not a total arse."

"But you're close," said Rose. "So away you go. And be careful."

As they moved to the throng of Gryffindors in the middle of the common room and began dancing like monkeys ready to mate, Melanie turned to her friends.

"So is it always like this?"

"Like what?" said Rose, absentmindedly swaying to the music.

"Are the parties always like this?"

"Mostly," said Al. "But this wasn't that great of a match. Sometimes, when the match is really good, there's a big party with all the students."

"Oh yeah," said Rose, grinning. "Those parties are really, really fun."

"Damn," Melanie sighed. "I wish I'd been at Hogwarts longer. When I think of all the parties I missed…"

From the middle of the dance floor, Myra let out a loud whoop, making James laugh rather hysterically.

"Is he that type?" Melanie asked.

"What type?"

"You know," she said. "The type to get it on with drunk girls."

"Yes," said Al, rolling his eyes, "but not Myra."

"Never Myra," Rose added.

"Why not Myra?"

"Because," said Rose, "she's his best friend and he loves her. Not like she loves him, which is, like, absolutely crazy, but like he loves us. Like a sister."

"Whoa!" said Al, putting his hands up in defense. "Just saying, for the record, James does not _love_ me."

Rose swatted him over the head. "Stop being such a boy."

"Er, Rose, like an hour ago you were gagging about being close to Al," Melanie pointed out.

"Seriously, you need to stop saying that."

"Yeah, Melanie, like, what's your problem?"

Across the room, Roxanne was lying on a cushy chair with her eyes shut, gripping the bridge of her nose as if trying to soothe a headache. Noah sat on the windowsill behind her, allowing his fingers to mingle with hers lightly.

"You've got to stop worrying about it," he was saying.

She did nothing but moan in feeble protest.

"I'm serious, Roxy," he continued. "I can't believe you spent the whole match like that."

"It wasn't my fault," she mumbled. "I-I just can't take it sometimes."

"Roxy," he murmured, shaking his head.

"Noah, in less than a year, he's gonna be gone, and if they never make up by then…" She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"Listen to me," he said, gripping her hand more firmly. "You can't keep doing that to yourself. It's not your problem to fix, it's his. Just let it go."

"When did you become such a wise, old man?" she teased weakly, peering at him through one eye.

He smirked at her. "Don't tell anyone, yeah? I've got the Noah Rep to protect."

"I can't believe you just named your reputation."

"Hey, it deserves a name!" he protested.

Sighing, Roxanne pulled her hand out of his and sat up, smiling at him appreciatively. "Thanks," she said. "I'm feeling better now. I think I'll turn in, though. He's coming over here, and I really can't take any more of it."

"Think about what I said," he called after her as she walked away, but she didn't respond to him.

Solemnly, Noah watched as James danced with a wilder-than-ever Myra and wondered what he had ever done to her. It seemed like they had never got on well, despite Noah's best efforts. He was still staring at her when Fred approached him.

"What's up, Noah?" he said, following his gaze, and turning back to look at him incredulously when he realized what he was looking at. "No way."

"What?" said Noah distractedly.

Fred let out a disbelieving laugh. "No way!" he repeated. "You're into Myra Peyton?"

"_What_?!" cried Noah. "Shut up, Fred! Why the hell would I be into Myra?"

Shrugging, Fred said, "I don't know. You tell me."

"Well, I'm not."

"That's good," said Fred, still snickering. "Because she's never gonna look at anyone other than James. Not to mention I just noticed you holding hands with my sister."

Noah shoved his friend. "I don't fancy your sister, either, Weasley. I was just being nice to her."

"Sure, sure," he said, grinning evilly. "I'm sure being nice to her was just a friendly act."

"I don't like Roxy," said Noah, glaring.

"You're the only person who calls her Roxy," Fred pointed out.

"So does your dad," Noah added, watching Fred warily out of the corner of his eye.

Fred's eyes grew dark, and he pursed his lips. It looked as though he was biting the inside of his cheeks.

"What?" Noah challenged. On any other day, he would not have dared mention Fred's father to him, but today he was quite annoyed with him.

For a moment, Fred considered chewing him out, but settled for continuing to chew his cheeks.

"You've got something to say, Fred?" he goaded.

"Shut up," Fred muttered quietly.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" said Noah mockingly; his anger seemed to be overwhelming him.

He saw Fred's fingers twitch towards his pocket, but before a scene could begin, the door to the portrait hole swung open.

"All right, all right," said a laughing Professor Scroll. She was wearing a purple dressing gown and her raven-colored hair was flowing out of a loose ponytail. Her wand was out, vanishing the food and drinks despite the protests.

"Oi, Veronica!" cried Noah in a frustrated tone, though his smile filled up his face. "Come on, aren't you glad Gryffindor won?"

"I'm very glad Gryffindor won the match, _Mr. Prewett_," she said, emphasizing his last name. "But it's time to get to bed. The noise is ridiculous."

"Oh, Veronica, really," said Noah, his grin broadening, if that was possible. "Who doesn't like a little noise?"

"We all like a little noise," she replied, returning his smile. "But what you've got going here is much, much more than a little."

"Come now, Veronica, have a drink," Noah insisted.

"That's _Professor Scroll_," she said firmly. "And no. I can't let you continue, or the headmistress will have my head."

Noah made a puppy-dog face at her for a while, but her resolve did not fade, and so he called out to the partying Gryffindors, "All right, everyone! It's time for bed!"

Loud and indignant protests erupted throughout the common room.

"Okay, okay," he said, waving them down. "My dear Veronica is insisting,"—he winked at her; she rolled her eyes—"and we've got to put down the party."

Because the food and drinks were pretty much gone by this time, everyone headed reluctantly to the dormitories.

"Thank you, Noah," said Professor Scroll. "But a little more respect would go a long way."

"Respect?" he said, looking shocked. "I give you nothing but respect, Veronica."

Rolling her eyes again, she smiled at him, said, "That'll be a detention Mr. Prewett. My office on Tuesday, five o'clock," and turned and left the common room, her black hair swinging in its ponytail. Noah stared after her as Fred watched.

"Maybe I was wrong," the Weasley muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, mate."

* * *

Melanie and Rose settled into their beds, chattering about the Winter Ball, which was approaching quickly.

"Who are you hoping to take?" said Melanie.

"I dunno," said Rose, shrugging. "I kind of like Mason George, you know?"

Knowingly, Melanie nodded. "Yeah, I met him once. He seemed cool."

"Yeah," her friend replied enthusiastically. "He is really cool."

"Myra said he was 'gallant,'" said Melanie.

Thoughtfully, Rose replied, "Yeah, I can see that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, once when this Ravenclaw guy, Charles McLaggen, was bugging me, Mason totally pounded on him the next day," said Rose excitedly.

Melanie's mouth fell open. "And you aren't dating him?"

Rose giggled slightly. "No, it's like Myra said," she explained. "He's really—gallant. Really serious about girls. I'm not really interested in that."

"You aren't?"

"Well, I'm fourteen." Rose shrugged. "I don't see the point of dating seriously right now."

"Mason is really serious," a dark girl said from the bed across from them. She never spoke to them much, and Rose and Melanie had been only polite with her for the past few months.

"How do you know him?" said Melanie curiously.

"One of my friends dated him once," she said. "She broke up with him because he was too, like, long-termy."

Melanie laughed at her statement. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Oh, Merlin, what have I been doing all this time!" cried Rose. "Melanie, this is Fatima Thomas. Fatima, this is—"

"I know Melanie," said Fatima shyly.

"Fatima's dad was at school with Uncle Harry and my mum and dad," Rose explained. "Hey, Fatima, are you coming to the Burrow for Christmas."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Mrs. Weasley invited us, but we're way too busy."

"Oh," said Rose, looking genuinely disappointed. "I was looking forward to seeing your brother."

"Me too," said Fatima excitedly. "My mum says he's gotten much bigger since I left."

"He's a baby?" said Melanie.

"Yeah, he's eight months old now."

The two girls squealed and Melanie smiled. She'd never been very into babies, but she had to admit that they were somewhat cute. When she was eleven years old, a baby had spit up on her, and since then she'd never liked the tiny humans much.

They chatted until Alex Rivers squawked at them to shut up so that she could enjoy her "beauty rest," and, chortling, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Something isn't right," said Rose as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Then, she let out an earsplitting scream.

With startled cries, the other fourth year girls, woke up, (Alex Rivers fell out of her bed) and mimicked Rose almost immediately.

Suspended before them was a bloody, mutilated corpse, grinning frighteningly.

"Oh my bloody Merlin!" screeched Alex, running out the door.

"Oh my God, what is that?"

"Where did that come from?!"

"How did this happen?!"

"Bloody hell, bloody hell, that's so GROSS!"

"WHO did this?!"

Within moments, Professor Scroll had burst into the dormitory and ushered the girls out so that Professor McGonagall could see what had happened. Several girls had vomited violently in the common room, and some were shaking and crying hysterically. It was safe to say that whoever had left the corpse in the dorm had wreaked perfect havoc. After some time, nearly all of Gryffindor was back in the common room, but this time nobody bothered with them.

The Gryffindor members of the Royal Group were huddled together, talking about what had happened.

"This is completely ridiculous," said Roxanne, who was holding on to her brother's hand tightly.

"Who do you think that is?" Fred whispered.

"Fred!" cried Eden. "That's horrible!"

"What?" said Fred, shrugging. "Don't you think whoever it is deserves to be known?"

"Yes, but…but that's still disgusting!" she said. Xander wrapped his arm around her shoulder warmly.

"You two saw it, right?" said Noah, looking at Rose and Melanie. The former, who seemed extremely unwilling to talk about the experience, merely nodded and gagged slightly.

"Yeah, we did," said Melanie wearily. "And it was really, really gross."

"Did they do it to just scare the living hell out of everyone?" said James, who was holding up a squinting Myra.

"Probably," Rose muttered, still disgusted.

"Then we know who it was," James said excitedly.

"I know that's what we're all thinking," said Fred seriously, "but maybe we should be, like, more careful about it this time."

"What do you mean?" said Noah. The tension between them had dissolved now that they had something over which to unite.

"I mean that last time Spook did something, he got away without a scratch," said Fred. "We don't want that to happen this time."

"So you're saying we should be quiet about it?" said Xander.

"I'm saying we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that Spook did it," said Fred quietly.

"Are you serious?" said James, with a shocked expression. "We have to nail him right away! How are we going to do that if we don't assume it was him?"

"Please don't shout, James," Myra groaned, clearly hung over.

"He's not shouting, Myra," said Melanie, smirking. "Maybe she should go back to bed."

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible," said a curt voice behind them. They looked over to see Professor McGonagall addressing the entire house. "We have to seal off the whole of Gryffindor Tower to investigate this."

"Is it real?" someone called. A wondering murmur spread through the common room.

"The corpse is NOT real," confirmed Professor Scroll, though she looked quite pale. "It is a fake corpse made of rubber, plastic, and other materials that has been magically enhanced to look and-and feel real." She turned a sickly green color and gagged slightly as her voice and breath caught and her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Professor Scroll!" said Professor McGonagall sharply as the young professor seized her arm to steady herself. "Do you need to be escorted to the Hospital Wing?"

"I'll take her," Noah volunteered immediately. He bounded up to her and very gently took Professor Scroll by the waist, beginning to lead her out of the room. "You okay, Veronica?" he asked quietly. The raven-haired woman merely groaned in response.

"As Professor Scroll was saying," Professor McGonagall continued after Noah and Professor Scroll had exited the room, "the corpse is fake. However, we need to examine the entire tower for any magical evidence left behind."

"Where are we going to stay?" said James.

"I was getting to that, Mr. Potter," she said. "I think you all know where you must stay."

The students exchanged confused looks and Fred called out, "What does that mean? Where else are we supposed to sleep?"

"Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall, turning to look hard into the tan boy's eyes. He fidgeted uncomfortably. "We teachers are not fools; we are perfectly aware that Hogwarts students—in particular, you Gryffindors—host _parties_ on your own quite often. No doubt, the venue for these parties is satisfactory for temporary quarters?"

Almost every member of the Royal Group wore identical sheepish expressions. Finally, Xander cleared his throat. "Er, yeah. Yeah, it'll be perfect," he said.

"Very well. Do you need an escort?"

"No, thanks," said Fred. "We've got it."

As the entire Gryffindor House made its way to the seventh floor to enter the Room of Requirement, whispers condemning Spook scattered themselves through the group.

"It was definitely him."

"He cursed Lucy Weasley, didn't he?"

"How do you think he did it?"

"Why would he do this?"

"See, this is what I mean," whispered Fred. "We can't do this. We can't assume it was Spook."

"Why the hell not?" demanded James.

"Because if we do then we're gonna overlook something he might have missed!"

"Missed?" Xander repeated.

"You know—magical evidence or whatever McGonagall said," said Fred.

"Like, if Spook did do it, then if we attack him right away, he's gonna have more time to cover his tracks," said Melanie.

"How?" asked Al. "If we attack him right away, doesn't that mean he'll get _less_ time to cover his tracks?"

"Thank you, Al!" said James, smiling victoriously. "I never thought I'd say this, but you are a smart one."

"Shut up, James," said Al.

"See, normally that would make sense," said Melanie, "but in this case, we—or at least you all—are way too emotionally involved in this thing. It makes sense, I mean, he seriously hurt your cousin, but then when you attack him you go almost blindly."

"I get what you're saying," Rose said hesitantly. "But then what are we supposed to do?"

"We're supposed to do it logically," said Fred, as they approached the door to the Room of Requirement.

When they pulled the heavy door open, exclamations of amazement overcame the Gryffindors. Adorned with red and gold banners, the room was enormous and extremely comfortable looking. The walls were lined with beds that had velvety red coverings and fluffy white pillows. A fire burned welcomingly in two of the walls, and soothing music played softly overhead. A dim chandelier twinkled above them as tiny, sparkling lights floated all around the room. In the middle of the room, about seventy mugs carrying steaming hot chocolate rested on a huge, round table.

"Blimey," cried James, seizing Myra's hand and dragging her to the middle of the room. "Why the hell do we even stay in Gryffindor Tower when we have something like this?"

"Face it, James," said Melanie, smirking at him. "If the entire Gryffindor House was just somehow not there in Gryffindor Tower every night, the staff would definitely do something about it."

"How would they know?" he argued as he sipped his hot chocolate, moaning with delight.

"Are you joking?" she said, laughing. "There would be no noise coming from the tower!"

For a moment, James was silent, looking thoughtful. Then, he nodded. "You're right," he conceded. "No way we could get away with being quiet for a night without making everyone in the entire castle totally suspicious and uncomfortable." Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Hey, I thought of an excellent prank!" he shouted, prancing over to the seventh year boys.

Chortling, Melanie took a mug of hot chocolate and led Myra to the beds that Fatima Thomas and Rose occupied.

"So, who thinks no one is gonna sleep for the rest of the night?" said Melanie.

"Me," cried Rose. "Definitely me."

"I do, too," said Fatima.

"I would really, really like to sleep," Myra muttered. "But somehow, I don't think I'm going to be able to."

"Is the hangover still going strong?" said Rose sympathetically.

The curly-haired girl groaned. "Not so much anymore. I just…feel like an idiot," she said hopelessly.

"What do you mean?" said Melanie.

Myra let out a wistful sigh. "I'm-I'm completely, totally, without a doubt, ridiculously, head-over-heels crazy for James."

Rose, Melanie, and Fatima cheered in unison, causing Myra to pout indignantly.

"Hey!" she cried.

"Sorry," said Melanie, snickering. "We've been waiting for you to say that."

"_We've_ been waiting for much longer than she has," said Rose, gesturing to the entire room.

Myra shoved her jokingly. "Shut up."

Rose shoved her back, laughing. "So, what's the problem?" she said.

"Why would you even ask me that?" she said despairingly, throwing herself face-first onto the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, Melanie, that there's no way in hell James would fancy me back," said Myra, her voice muffled by the pillow she had stuffed her face into.

"Oh, come ON, Myra!" said Rose impatiently. "You're not seriously letting that get you down?"

Lifting herself up slightly, Myra peeked up at Rose. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because!" she cried, "you're Myra Peyton! You're, like, the toughest girl in the entire house! You don't let boys get in the way of your stride."

With a pathetic wail, Myra dropped her face back onto her pillow. "Except for James Potter."

"Myra, you're his best friend," said Melanie. "He's got to have something for you under his, er, _virile_ exterior."

The three girls giggled as Myra glared at them. "This is the first time I've properly said it out loud," she admitted. "And now I don't know what to do."

"Matters of the heart should not be kept in the heart," said Rose wisely. "You should tell him."

Myra looked horrified. "No! I can't do that!"

"Why not?" said Melanie.

"He's-He's my best friend! What if he doesn't like me back? Then I won't even be friends with him anymore!" she cried, looking heartbroken at that mere thought.

"Myra, can I say something?" said Fatima, speaking for the first time.

"What?" said Myra harshly.

"Well," she said, not quivering for a second under the older girl's piercing glare, "it seems to me that James cares for you so much that he'd do just about anything for you."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, if you were to tell him you fancy him, and he didn't fancy you back, then don't you think he'd make every effort to keep you as a friend?" she said.

"I don't get it."

"Basically, he'd probably be pretty nice about it and then try to go back to normal as much as possible, because he'd know that's how you'd want it, and it would also be how he'd want it. Right?"

Melanie and Rose exchanged looks of surprise; they hadn't known this girl they'd almost never talked to would have so much insight.

Myra thought for a moment, the fear continuing to grip her insides as if trying to crush them into a fine powder. James was someone she valued like a family member, like more than a family member. And she would never risk that for anything. But what Fatima was proposing seemed like there was no risk at all in telling this amazing, wonderful boy how amazing and wonderful she thought he was. Could she do it?

"I'll think about it," she finally said. "Maybe around Christmas."

"We'll be sure to stick some charmed mistletoe over your heads," teased Rose, her eyes twinkling.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so Myra has finally admitted her feelings! We'll see what happens next!

~Maya


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long, but this chapter was really difficult for me to write, because it just felt dull to me. I hope you enjoy, and please leave your reviews! Let me know what you'd like to see coming up!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 13

The next morning, Melanie trudged sleepily down to breakfast and found that she had dived headfirst into a heavy discussion about the previous night's events. Almost none of the Gryffindors had slept a wink the night before; something in the room had fueled them with what had then seemed like unlimited energy, but now had turned into cranky juice. Melanie had spent two hours beating the grogginess out of her in the bathroom, but still felt like sleep was the best thing in the world.

"Hey, Mel," Al yawned.

"Don't call me 'Mel,'" she replied, returning the yawn. "What's going on?"

"Eden's explaining something to us." He patted the seat next to him, and Melanie sat down on the hard bench, wishing more than anything that there was a soft, plushy cushion underneath her bottom.

"There are a bunch of spells that could have potentially been used," Eden Bones was saying, gesturing to a sheet of parchment in the middle of the table. "Now, I've organized them into groups by level. Combined, they will end up with the full corpse."

"When did you do this?" said Roxanne, rubbing her eyes.

Eden, who looked quite like a fairy princess, much to everyone's envy, smiled. "Last night, while the boys were talking about how to catch who did it."

"Damn," said Myra.

"I've said it before, but I'll say it again, forever and ever," said Xander. "You're amazing."

"Ew."

"God, ew."

"That's disgusting."

"Keep that to yourself."

"Anyway," said Eden, laughing, "we just need to figure out Spook's—er, I mean—all the suspects' magical abilities."

"How are we gonna do that?" said Fred.

Eden looked reluctant to answer him.

"Well?"

"I…I don't like it," she said, hesitantly, "but you-you've got to duel them."

Each of the boys adopted wickedly mischievous expressions.

"Wow," said Myra, rolling her eyes.

"How's that gonna help?" asked Rose.

"I think they're just gonna duel them to see if they use all easy-way-out spells, all moderate spells, start easy and end hard or vice-versa. You know, all the combinations. And then, they'll match it with Eden's outline," said Melanie. Everyone stared at her, awed.

"Whoa," murmured Al.

"What?" said Melanie, looking from face to face, befuddled.

"I just asked a question and you answered it," said Rose. "That's new."

"It really is," said Noah, who had finally come down to breakfast.

"Hey! Look who it is!" cried Fred, jumping up from his seat to clap his friend on the back.

"Good morning," teased Roxanne, glancing at her watch, which read 12:30. "Or should I say 'afternoon?'"

"Slept in, did we?" said Melanie.

"Don't worry about it, Noah," James yawned, stretching openly. "We all did."

"Speaking of which, where were you?" demanded Fred.

"What do you mean?" Noah looked thoroughly confused.

"You didn't come up last night, mate," said Xander.

"Oh, er, by the time I got back to the Tower, everyone had already gone to bed," he answered, shrugging. Everyone exchanged looks as he took a seat and began stuffing his face with sausage links.

"Noah, we didn't sleep in the Tower last night," said Melanie.

"What?" said Noah, suddenly uncomfortable.

"We stayed in the Room of Requirement," said James.

"Yeah, McGonagall didn't let us stay in the Tower," Al added. "Where were you?"

Watching him with great interest, the entire group waited for him to answer. The so-called cocky boy opened and closed his mouth awkwardly several times, but was rescued by the approach of handsome blonde boy.

"Hey! It's Scorpius!" said Noah loudly. "What's up, mate?"

"Oh, no, you don't," said Melanie. "What were you doing all night?"

"No, no, no!" Noah cried hurriedly. "Scorpius, what brings you here?"

"Er, if this is a bad time, I can come back," he said in a surprisingly soft voice.

"No! It's not a bad time!" Noah assured him.

"It's not a bad time, Scorpius," said Al, in a much calmer tone that Noah could have ever achieved at that moment. "Noah here was just telling us where he was all of last night."

"No, I wasn't!" Noah insisted. "_Scorpius_ was telling us what he's been up to."

Rose let out a sigh. "All right, what are you doing here, Scorpius?"

"Oh, I just came here because I heard about the creepy corpse thing," he said.

Melanie and Rose shuddered almost in unison.

"Why would you remind us of that?" the redhead whined, punching him lightly in the arm.

"Were you the ones who saw it?" he asked, looking back and forth between them.

"Yeah." Rose nodded. "But can we please, please talk about something else?"

"Yes, that'd be great," said Melanie. "I'm Melanie, by the way."

"Oh, I know," said Scorpius.

Wholly exasperated, she asked, "Does all of Hogwarts know about the Muggle-turned-witch?"

"And all of the wizarding world," Scorpius answered.

They all looked at him, confused.

"What?" said Melanie.

"Haven't you seen the _Daily Prophet_ today?" he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Al. "What does Melanie have to do with the _Daily Prophet_?"

Roxanne pulled a copy of the newspaper out from under her glass of orange juice. As she straightened it out, they all saw the headline that read: MUGGLES KEPT IN THE DARK FOR TOO LONG.

"Apparently," she said, scanning the article, "some wizard has been holding rallies encouraging Muggle integration into wizarding society. He references you, Melanie." They all turned their eyes on her.

Noah cheered. "Looks like she's famous!"

"She already kinda was," Al pointed out.

"Shut up," Melanie whined.

"No, no," Eden interrupted, leaning over Roxanne's shoulder to look at the article. "This is not good."

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"Well, it looks like this wizard's using Melanie's incident as a really, really faulty support for his 'cause,'" Roxanne explained.

"I hope the Ministry's doing something about this," said Eden.

"So this isn't about me?" said Melanie, with a hopeful smile.

"It's not about you, but if someone doesn't step in and put this person in his place, it could get crazy," Eden stated simply.

"They can't, Eden," said Al. "If he's just organizing rallies, he's not technically causing any harm."

"Rallies have the potential to cause harm, Al," she insisted. "People who lead them in this way have a ridiculously honed ability to manipulate and sway crowds—or, as they should be called, _mobs_—into doing whatever the one person likes. It's like a mini-dictatorship."

"Eden, it's probably not an issue," James assured her. "Just calm down."

"Yeah, let's talk about something else. Something that doesn't get Most-Peaceful-Girl-Ever's knickers in a twist," Myra teased.

"Yeah, like how about this," Scorpius interjected. He looked incredibly nervous, and he was not making eye contact with anybody at the table. "Rose, will you go the Winter Ball with me?"

Shocked silence. Then—

"YES!"

* * *

"So, I take it she likes him?"

"Oh, she likes him. She very, very likes him," said Al, grinning. "Uncle Ron's not gonna be too happy about this."

"Why not?"

Mason George, who was walking to Transfiguration with them, laughed. "Mr. Weasley hates Scorpius's dad, Draco Malfoy. He mentions it every time Rose brings Scorpius up."

"Rose brings him up?" said Melanie. "How come if she likes him so much, I never knew about him?"

"Well, you see," Al began, his smile broadening, "Rose doesn't know she likes Scorpius."

With a scoff, Melanie asked, "How could she not know? That's, like, impossible."

"You didn't know whether you liked Noah or not," Mason pointed out.

"I'm not talking about me," Melanie insisted. "I'm talking about Rose. We all saw her face after he asked her to go to the Winter Ball. She was pissing her pants, she was so excited."

"So?"

"_So_, I'm pretty sure Rose can tell whether or not she pisses her pants when a boy asks her out," said Melanie, smirking.

"You clearly haven't spent enough time around Rose," said Al. "When it comes to Scorpius, she's really sad."

"She said she'd be into going with you, you know," she said to Mason.

"Me?" he said incredulously. "What?"

"Yeah, I said that, too," she replied, shrugging. "But she seemed pretty genuine about it. That's why I was like 'what the hell' about earlier."

"No." Al shook his head. "I've been expecting things to happen between Rose and Scorpius, but no one really talks about it because they've _never_ had anything more than friendship before."

"So, why'd you expect it?" Mason asked.

"I dunno. It was just something I…sensed, I suppose."

"You're such a girl," Melanie snickered.

The black-haired boy looked outraged. "I'm not a girl!"

"It's okay," she said, giggling. "Girls like boys who are girls."

"Wha…that-that doesn't make any sense!" he cried as they entered the Transfiguration room. In a thick swarm, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw second years hurried out of it. Al grabbed the arm of a small, red-haired (no surprises there) girl, who Melanie recognized as Lily Potter.

"Hey!" she protested, glowering at her brother.

"Lily," said Al in a warning tone, "have you heard?"

Smiling smugly, Lily Potter responded, "Heard what?" The innocence in her voice could not be rivaled even by angels singing at a baby's birth.

"Lily Luna," he said, glaring. "Don't write Dad about it."

"About what, Albus?" she said, her smile growing.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Al, come on," sighed Mason. "Lily, please don't write to your dad about Rose and Scorpius. You know it's best if Mr. Weasley hears it from Rose herself, rather than from Mr. Potter."

For a second, Lily looked back and forth between Al and Mason, and then shrugged, said, "Okay," cheerily, and happily made her way in the other direction.

"How the hell did you do that?" Al moaned enviously.

"She probably likes me," Mason teased, receiving a death glare from Al.

"Go near my baby sister and I will personally gouge your eyes out with the end of your own wand," he threatened.

"Let's not have that violent talk in the classroom," Professor Scroll chastised smilingly as Mason laughed. "Now, fourth year Gryffindors! Now that I have you here, let me tell you that we are closer to discovering who placed the fake body in the common room last night."

The entire classroom, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws alike, cheered exuberantly.

"How is that?" someone called.

"Well, we have confirmed the spells used to create the body," she explained.

"Are you okay, Professor?" Rose asked. "You were so queasy last night."

Tenderly, Professor Scroll smiled at Rose and said, "Thanks for your concern, Rose. I'm feeling much better. It was just an, ah, 'in the moment' thing, and Madam Daisy sent me off right away." Nobody noticed her jaw twitch as she said the words, 'in the moment.'

"Are you gonna tell us what the spells were?" Melanie said.

"No, we are not," said Professor Scroll sharply. "They were very unsafe spells to use—not meant for fourth years to try."

"What do you mean, 'unsafe?' said Al slowly.

"They were the kinds of spells that can harm the witch or wizard if not done properly," she explained. "But enough of that! Let's get back to Transfiguration."

* * *

The group had huddled together again, this time in the common room before dinner. Melanie, Al, and Rose were all very excited to explain what they had learned in Transfiguration.

"So they know what spells were used?" asked James eagerly. "What were they?"

"Professor Scroll wouldn't tell us," Melanie replied, shaking her head and receiving many disappointed stares. "Hey, no! That's not all!"

"It's okay, Melanie," Noah said glumly. "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Professor Scroll would've written it down somewhere right?" said Fred. "In some notes?"

"Yeah!" said James, looking slightly more enthusiastic. "Who's up for breaking into her office?"

"Wait!" Melanie cried, holding her hands up. "That wasn't all!"

"You three really need to calm down," Rose advised.

She realized too late that she probably should not have spoken; the three boys turned their wickedly mischievous grins toward her.

"Oh, do we?" said James, his eyes twinkling.

"You know, I'd say the same thing to you, Rose," said Noah.

"Er…what do you mean?" she said nervously.

"Oh, you know," teased James.

"You should calm down before you and Scorpius get all—"

"FRED WEASLEY, YOU SHUT UP!" she howled, punching his arm quite forcefully ("Ow!").

"Come on, Rose," James laughed, "you know we're just waiting for—"

"Shut up, James," said Myra, snickering. "Let them tell us about the spells."

"Myra, Rose and Scorpius together are way more interesting at the moment," Noah sniggered.

"Just let it go," said Al. "She's gonna get hell from Uncle Ron, anyway."

Rose blanched at this thought; she'd been trying not to think about how her father would react to this all day. It was really too much to hope that he'd be understanding. Her father was a hot-headed, proud, stubborn Gryffindor, so this hope was a little far-fetched.

"Rose? Rose?" Al was saying, waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped back to the real world.

"What?"

"I just said, 'have you told Hugo not to write about it?'" said Al.

"What do you mean?" she said, nonplussed.

Al, James, Fred, and Roxanne all groaned loudly.

"You didn't tell him?" said James incredulously. "The first thing I did was tell Lily not to write to Mum and Dad!"

"So did I," Al said.

"No, you didn't," James contradicted him.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You told Lily not to write to Dad," said James. "When I told her not to write to either of them, she was in the middle of a letter to Mum."

Rose gasped. "What? Why would she do that? What did I ever do to her?"

"She's a little sister, Rose," said Melanie. "They like to do that."

"And she tells Mum and Dad everything," Al added. "I should've known she'd do that."

"You better go tell Hugo right now," Roxanne warned.

"Unless he's already sent Uncle Ron the letter," Fred suggested.

"No," Rose whimpered, but before she could scamper to her brother's dormitory, the freckly, red-haired Hugo Weasley came laughing down the stairs.

"Hi, Hugo," said Roxanne as he approached them. "How are you?" She was one of the only older family members who could fully get through to Hugo.

"Hi, Roxy!" he said cheerily. "I'm good. Just finished a letter to Dad."

Inconspicuously, Rose gulped. "Did you?" she said. "What'd you tell them about?"

Clearly oblivious to what Rose was implying, Hugo merely shrugged. "I dunno. Stuff."

"Hugo, did you tell Dad about me and Scorpius?" Rose demanded.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, I did," he said.

"Oh, Merlin," Rose squeaked.

"Did you send the letter, Hugo?" asked Roxanne.

"Uh, of course? Why would I write a letter but not send one?" he said. He had no idea why everyone was panicking about a simple letter.

"Will it really be that bad?" Melanie said. Everyone seemed to be severely dreading the idea of Rose's father discovering his daughter's more-than-friendship with Scorpius Malfoy to an extent that seemed almost comical to her.

"Oh, it will be bad," Rose muttered. "I'm gonna go and-and just…just be alone."

They watched as she made her way up to the girls' dormitory.

"Poor thing," said Eden, looking after her. "I should go up with her."

"No, Eden, we'll need you," said Melanie. "We were talking about the spells remember?"

The blonde girl looked reluctant to stay, but she turned her eyes to Melanie nevertheless.

"Professor Scroll told us that the spells would 'harm the witch or wizard if not performed correctly,' and that they were 'not for fourth years to try,'" said Melanie.

"Does that help at all?" said Al hopefully.

Eden pulled out her outline and pored over it with Xander and James.

"I think I know of some spells that can do that," James murmured to himself.

"It'll help with narrowing down, that's for sure," said Xander.

"Yeah, almost ten of these are automatically not the ones," said James. "Did she say if the spells would _all_ be harmful, or just some of them?"

"She didn't say," said Al, shaking her head. "She just said that they weren't for fourth years to try. But she never said the words 'some of them.'"

"All right, well that's good," said Eden. "We can probably figure out, like five or six combinations, yeah?"

The boys nodded.

"So when do we duel Spook?" said Noah eagerly.

James's face darkened. "You don't, Noah. Spook is mine."

"I'd advise against that, James," said Al.

"And why the hell would you do that?" James demanded.

"It's pretty obvious," Melanie interjected. "He picked on your sister. You're gonna want to hurt him."

"They're right, James," Myra sighed. "I know how you want to get back at him, but we need someone who's gonna go easy and focus on Spook's style of doing magic."

"I'm going to duel Spook," said James firmly.

"James, you really shouldn't," said Melanie.

"What do you know?" he barked, turning to her. "You haven't even known us a few seconds, Melanie. Just get the hell out of our family."

"James," Myra chastised, shocked.

"No, it's fine," said Melanie. She opened her mouth to say she understood his frustration, that it made perfect sense that he would attack whoever got in his way, but the breath never made it out of her lungs.

The last thing she saw before she felt her back hit the floor was the end of James's wand.

* * *

Groggily, Melanie opened her eyes to see a scene that definitely was not taking place in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing: It was a large room, and several orderlies were scrambling about, tending to patients who occupied every single bed that lined the wall. As she struggled to keep her thousand-ton eyelids open, she realized that the some of the people in the beds were much older or much younger than she was. One girl could not have been any older than five years.

"Oh, you're awake!" said a warm, but crisp-sounding voice by her head. She tried to look around, but her muscles felt like baby elephants, and, try as she might, she could not lift them.

Twitching her fingers, Melanie became aware of various tubes attached to her arm and a dull panic spread through her; the wooziness was strongly overpowered the alarm.

"Wasgoinon?" she mumbled, hoping the crisp voice hadn't gone away.

"Darling, you really should rest," it said. Melanie vaguely registered the soft pillows under her head being fluffed and she felt somewhat irritated. She didn't want motherly, caring advice; she wanted to know where the hell she was and why she was there.

"Don' wanna…" she said, trying to locate the woman with the voice.

"Go to sleep, dear," she repeated more firmly, sounding distant…

The sound of faint crying was the first Melanie heard when she awoke. No longer were there any tubes in her body (as far as she could tell), and she felt properly awake when she opened her eyes, though she quickly had to shut them again due to the blinding sunlight peering into the room. Looking around, she noticed that the room had changed: It was much tinier, she was no longer accompanied by fifteen or so other people, and her mother was sitting in the corner, gripping some man's hand and crying.

"Mum?" she said, slightly hoarsely.

"Melanie!" Mrs. Daniels gasped, rushing forward to draw her daughter into a lung-crushing hug. "Oh, God, Melanie, they called me at home and I didn't know…I didn't know what had happened! No one did! This-this hospital's been working on you for a week, and I've been-been p-panicking!" she sobbed.

"All-all right, Mum," Melanie grunted, patting her mother's back awkwardly.

"Sharona, you should probably let her breathe," the man said, smiling as he gently pulled Mrs. Daniels away from a groaning Melanie.

Who was this man? As Melanie gave the man a very meticulous once-over, she wasn't sure if she was glaring at him, but she absolutely did not care. The black, slightly patched-up robes he donned were hanging open to reveal a bright yellow sweater and faded blue jeans. His hair was a very light brown color, and he had tiny lines around his face that were similar to her mother's, and his smile was actually quite friendly. But the only thing Melanie could focus on was how his fingers were resting on her mother's shoulders. She realized that she should probably wonder and ask where she was and what had brought her here and why, but the man had been touching her mother for far too long, and that question simply had to be pursued.

"Er…hello?" she said to the man, her tone slightly accusing.

"Oh, God," Mrs. Daniels mumbled. "I'm sorry, Melanie…I forgot to introduce Dennis!"

"Dennis Creevey," he said, extending his hand for her to shake.

Without dropping (what she hoped was) her piercing gaze, Melanie took his hand and said, "So you're a wizard?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding enthusiastically. "But I'm Muggle-born, like you. Well, not exactly like you, but…"

"Yes, he lives in my flat building, Melanie," said her mother, in an almost giggly way. "It's so nice to have someone who's comfortable with our—er, Muggle—culture in Hogsmeade!"

Before Melanie could offer a comment, a dumpy woman walked briskly into the room and, upon seeing Melanie awake and well, turned to Mrs. Daniels and Dennis Creevey.

"You should have called me immediately when you saw that she was functioning!" she chastised.

They murmured their apologies quietly, and the woman looked at Melanie with the kindness of a stern but wacky teacher.

"Melanie, dear, I'm your Healer!" she said, and Melanie recognized the warm, crisp voice from what felt like a dream.

"I know you," she said hesitantly.

"Yes! I'm sure you do, seeing as you woke up very, very briefly three days ago," the Healer replied, moving around to fluff Melanie's pillows. "My name is Healer Potts, and I've been watching you with my intern for quite a while. You were well, however, last night, and we were able to take you off of the medications. You should be able to leave tonight."

"We can take her home?" Mrs. Daniels asked hopefully. Melanie cringed mentally at her use of the word 'we.'

"Yes, you may. I'd advise that she not return to school until the Christmas vacation is over," Healer Potts told her.

"What? No!" cried Melanie. "I've got to go to school! I've got classes and homework and my friends and—"

"Classes and homework and friends can all wait," said Healer Potts resolutely.

"But the Winter Ball!" she tried feebly. She didn't really want to go to the Winter Ball, but she felt that appealing to this Healer's teenage girl side might persuade her to allow Melanie to return to school.

Clearly, it had no effect, as Healer Potts merely chuckled. "Melanie, dear, the Hogwarts Winter Ball has already happened. I'm sorry, but there's only a week before your holiday."

Shocked upon hearing how long she'd been a useless piece of lettuce, Melanie opened and closed her mouth several times, before crumbling back onto her bed with a pathetic whimper. "Why? What the hell happened to me?"

"It had to do with the wizard blood," said Mrs. Daniels. "It started to react badly with your actual blood. Only because Healer Potts had some knowledge of our medical world you were able to get back to normal at all, love."

Melanie bolted upright. "There's something wrong with my wizard blood?" she squeaked. "Does-does this mean I'm not gonna be a witch anymore?"

"No, no, dear," Healer Potts assured her. "You just have to return for monthly visits so that we can stabilize your blood levels."

Sighing, she said, "Thank God. All right. But speaking of that, where am I?"

"This is St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," Dennis Creevey replied. Melanie nodded; she'd read about it briefly while researching the wizarding world.

"And I've been here for, like, a week and a half?" she said, doing quick calculations in her head.

"Yes, dear," Healer Potts affirmed. "It took less than a day to figure out what happened, about three days to put it right, and a week to stabilize."

Melanie groaned loudly, throwing her arms up in the air in defeat. "I can't believe I made such a big deal."

"You didn't do anything, Melanie," her mother said firmly, moving away from Dennis Creevey to grip her hand.

"She's right about it being a big deal though," Dennis muttered quietly to the Healer. Melanie glared daggers at him, but he didn't notice. "We should get her out of here as soon as possible. We don't want the public knowing about this issue."

"The public?" Melanie repeated incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, Melanie, but your whole story was in the newspapers for at least two months after the incident happened," said Dennis. "I know you and your mother don't need any more publicity."

"What are _you_ supposed to do about it?" she challenged him, almost rudely. Mrs. Daniels gave her a surprised and slightly reproachful look, but otherwise did not respond to her daughter's uncouth manners.

Dennis either did not notice her tone or chose to ignore it, responding, "My brother works as a photographer for _The_ _Daily Prophet_, and he's held in pretty high esteem. I've told him to try and steer the 'digging' type of journalists in directions away from you or St. Mungo's."

"Thanks, Dennis," said Mrs. Daniels, smiling appreciatively at him.

"Well, unfortunately, we can't release her until she's been observed awake for twelve hours," said Healer Potts.

"That's fine, ma'am," he said. "But I've got to get to work, Sharona. D'you want to stay here with Melanie?"

Mrs. Daniels looked from Dennis to her daughter and smiled. "Of course I do."

"Er, no, Mum, that's okay," Melanie said quickly. "You probably have stuff to do."

"No, no!" Mrs. Daniels assured her, though her eyes betrayed a slight hint of worry.

"You did have things to do, didn't you?" Melanie accused her.

"Well…I had an appointment with Mr. Evengle later this afternoon…" She trailed off.

"Go to your appointment, Mum," Melanie laughed. "I'm sure if it's with Evengle it's pretty damn important. I'll be fine. You were probably sitting here for the past week and a half anyway, so you've definitely made up for the twelve hours you'll miss today."

With a sigh, Mrs. Daniels leaned forward and kissed Melanie's forehead. "What would I do without such a lovely, thoughtful daughter?" she wondered, smiling at her.

"You'd perish," she teased.

Giggling, her mother smacked her shoulder gently. "Oh, you," she said. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"I'll be fine, Mum," said Melanie, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure there's plenty to do in the hospital."

"All right…" Mrs. Daniels still looked slightly uncertain, but nevertheless took Dennis Creevey's hand and exited the room with a final wave over her shoulder to Melanie.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Melanie was looked after by a young-looking intern with pale, almost glowing blonde hair, and a freckly complexion by the name of Victoire.

"It's a pretty name, you know," said Melanie as Victoire did the hourly checkup of her vitals.

"Thank you," she said. "It means 'victory.' I was born two years after we won the war, and I guess my parents just really wanted me to be named for the war."

Knowingly, Melanie nodded. "I've seen that in a bunch of my friends at Hogwarts."

At this, Victoire giggled very much like a teenage girl. "Your friends must be my cousins," she explained.

"Your cousins?"

"Yes, the Potters," she said, grinning broadly.

Shocked, Melanie abruptly sat upright. "Are you serious? The Royal Group are your cousins?"

"The _what_?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," said Melanie sheepishly. "It's what I've been calling them, the Royal group. Because they seem to kinda, I dunno, rule over the rest of the students."

Greatly amused, Victoire let out a booming laugh that could only be inherited from the Weasleys. "Oh, goodness, you're probably right," she said, with an air of fondness in her tone. "I was in that group once. Merlin, it's been a while."

"Doesn't surprise me. How long ago was that?" asked Melanie.

"Oh, it was three years ago that I graduated," said Victoire wistfully. "Those were the best days of my life. Your 'Royal Group' wasn't so big then, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, no, it was just like any other clique, except slightly more popular than the others. A few people are still there, though, like Fred and Noah and Xander. The others were pretty young when we started, and they didn't really hang out with us that much. I was there when it was first formed, you know," she said proudly.

Melanie snorted, and said, "It's weird to think about that. I'd imagine it to always be there."

Victoire laughed again, but a softer one this time. "I definitely know what you mean, but it kind of _was_ always there. At least for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we always spend, like, every moment together, since we were kids. So, at Hogwarts, all that was different was that there were more people."

Nodding thoughtfully, Melanie said, "That sounds really awesome."

"It was," she said, smiling.

"Miss Weasley!" cried Healer Potts as she bustled into the room. "There is no need to chatter with the patients for this long! Other patients need your care, too, you know. Bragging about your engagement, again?"

Blushing furiously, Victoire murmured her apologies, smiled and waved good-bye sheepishly to Melanie, and left the room.

Melanie absolutely could not wait to meet the entire Weasley family during Christmas.

* * *

**A/N:** A loot of things happened in this chapter! The Spook issue is smack in the middle of being resolved, but what's this about a Muggle-Wizard Interaction activist? Will this be the last time Melanie's blood has a bad reaction? What about Scorpius and Rose? Myra and James? Noah's unexplained disappearance? I can't wait for the Christmas chapters, they're going to my favorite to write! I hope you enjoyed this, and please leave your feedback.

~Maya


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** So sorry it's taken so long for me to post! I'll come out with a new chapter as soon as possible (definitely more quickly than I did with this one). Enjoy!

* * *

**Anomaly**

Chapter 14

When Melanie's mother showed up (thankfully, without Dennis Creevey by her side) to take her home as Healer Potts discharged her, she was practically jumping with ecstasy.

"And don't forget to come in within the next four weeks!" the Healer shouted after them as they scurried out the large front doors. As they stepped out onto the Muggle street, Mrs. Daniels threw her arm out to hail a taxi. Waggling her eyebrows mischievously, Melanie lowered her mother's arm, surreptitiously pulled out her wand, and threw her arm out. With a BANG!, a purple, triple-decker bus teetered to a stop at the curb; for a moment, Melanie and Mrs. Daniels thought that it might tip over onto the sidewalk.

"WHAT is that?!" Mrs. Daniels cried, shocked.

"That's the Knight Bus," said Melanie excitedly. "I learned about it at school. Apparently, it's available whenever you need it and can take you wherever you need!"

"But-but I-I don't understand…" her mother spluttered.

"They say it's invisible if you don't know what you're looking for," said Melanie, grinning. She loved magic so much. When she'd summoned the bus, she had been worried that her mother might not be able to see it, as was the case with much other magic. Now, she was wildly relieved and happy, though that could simply be attributed to her release from St. Mungo's.

"HELLO!" cried a tall, lanky, brown-haired teenage boy, jumping out the bus door. "My name's Brandon Gerald! Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Please hop on and we'll take you where you need to go!" He gave an exuberant gesture in presenting the bus as though it were the most regal form of transport ever known to man.

"Thanks," said Melanie. "We need to go to Hogsmeade Village."

"HOGSMEADE!" Brandon Gerald yelled behind them at the driver, who was an old lady who looked (quite terrifyingly) blind.

Mrs. Daniels's foot had only just touched the first stair step when the bus took off, forcing them to clamber onto it in a panic.

"Merlin!" Melanie held a hand to her chest to catch her breath.

"_What_ did you say?" said Mrs. Daniels, looking at her daughter as though seeing her for the first time.

"I-I said 'Merlin,' Mum," Melanie replied, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Is that, like, your way of saying 'God?'"

Laughing slightly, she said, "Yeah, I guess so. It is."

Though Mrs. Daniels looked vaguely disconcerted by her daughter's transformation into a member of the Wizarding world, she did not press it further. They moved to the back and settled into uncomfortable, straight-backed chairs and sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. Interestedly, Melanie peered around at the collection of odd-looking witches and wizards who had boarded the Knight Bus. Next to Mrs. Daniels sat a very, very old lady with a red leather handbag and a classic witch's hat with a stuffed, moth-eaten vulture sitting precariously on it. She noticed Melanie watching her and turned a powerful, almost haughty stare upon her; Melanie looked away hastily.

Instead, she turned to the other side, where a broad-chested, muscular man sat clutching the hand of a frail, older woman who seemed to be his mother. There was something distinctly familiar about these two, something that differentiated them from the rest of the people sitting on the bus. Could it be their odd attire? Unlike the other witches and wizards surrounding them who were dressed in worn out robes, these two wore crisp, ironed suits. As she looked at the man, Melanie remembered, with a pang of grief, her father in his classy gray suit and tie, smiling as he ran a comb through his hair before saying good-bye every morning as he left for the office. She lost herself in this reverie until the bus hit a stop and they were nearly thrown from their seats.

"So what exactly happened with the blood?" said Melanie, after they'd recovered, jerking herself forcibly away from thoughts of her father. "They were really vague about it, and I wanted to get out so badly that I didn't bother to wait and ask more questions."

"Well, obviously your case is a special one," Mrs. Daniels answered, "so they hadn't known that anything could go wrong. In my opinion, they should've checked you right away. If something medical has never happened before, it should be carefully tested and observed. Simply safety practices."

"Mum," said Melanie, amused and exasperated. It was just like her mother to blame the world angrily for anything that went wrong.

"I'm just saying," she insisted. "But anyway, the doctor—sorry, Healer—told me and Dennis that the magic in your blood started to clash with the non-magic. Like a battle. That's what she told me."

"That…doesn't make any sense," said Melanie.

"I don't get it much either," Mrs. Daniels confessed. "But it seemed that neither did they. Like I said, it's a totally new thing. That's why they're calling you in again for testing, right?"

"HOGSMEADE!" shouted Brandon Gerald, and the Knight Bus screeched to a halt again. Melanie and Mrs. Daniels picked themselves up off the floor hastily and, muttering hurried and wholly insincere thank yous, scrambled to escape the purple bus of horror. The woman with the vulture hat got off with them, but the fancy mother and son remained seated.

"Merlin, I'm glad that's done," Mrs. Daniels breathed as she planted her feet firmly on the steady ground.

Surprised, Melanie let out a little laugh.

Mrs. Daniels turned to her. "What?" she said indignantly. "Can I not be a witch like my daughter?"

Giggling, Melanie rolled her eyes but squeezed her mother's hand nonetheless. "Come on. Let's go home."

* * *

Although she'd been to her mother's new house on the last Hogsmeade visit, it had only been for a brief moment, and then they'd left to explore the village.

Now, Melanie properly settled into the cozy bedroom her mother had decorated for her. In the corner there was a small twin bed with a patchwork quilt laid over it and her favorite old teddy bear. Though one of its eyes was missing and its stuffing was hanging out in various places, Melanie had simply refused to throw it out. The entirety of her Muggle clothing was hanging in the walk-in closet, next to which a vanity table stood on rickety legs. On top of the table, Melanie noticed with a lurch in her stomach, was a photo of her and her father. Stony-faced, she approached the table, gently turned the frame face-down, and pushed it out of her mind.

In front of the window, there was a large desk that was cluttered with schoolbooks and stationary, presumably her things that she had left behind at Hogwarts. Amongst the mess, there was a small owl and a tightly furled roll of parchment, which she unrolled eagerly.

_Hey Mels _(she scowled),

_Hope you're doing okay. I kinda need to talk. Sorry, I know you just got out of the hospital if you're reading this, but I don't really know what to do and I didn't know who else to talk to. My owl's probably waiting there. Send me back a letter soon if you can, but if you need to rest, that's fine, too._

_Noah_

Upon reading this perplexing letter, Melanie's brow had furrowed as she thought hard as to what this could mean. Noah Prewett was almost always the height of cool, relaxed, and nearly never gave a care for anything that happened. And it wasn't as though he'd been acting weirdly recently, save the one incident after the body in the dormitory, where he'd disappeared for a night and no one knew where he'd gone.

Melanie shuddered as the image of the corpse flashed before her eyes. Shaking it away, she rummaged through the desk drawer for a pen and paper (her mother had refused to make the conversion to parchment and ink) and began a reply.

_Hey Noah,_

_Don't call me 'Mels.' _

_I'm all right. They say something went wrong with the wizard blood, but they say it's back to normal now. I have to go for a check-up once a month. _

_Don't worry about it. We can talk whenever you like. I'm in Hogsmeade village right now at my mum's. If you wanna sneak out and visit, I can probably come see you. If not, we can just talk at the Weasleys' during the Christmas slumber party._

_Melanie_

Satisfied, she rolled the paper up tightly and tied it to the tiny owl, which flew out the window promptly. Several minutes passed before she noticed another letter on her desk. With a pleased smile, she recognized Al's neat handwriting.

_Hi Melanie,_

_How are you doing? We're all really worried for you. Rose says she's never been so bored, but she seems to be doing all right with Fatima Thomas. She's quite nice, isn't she?_

_The Winter Ball was all right. I got stuck with Alex Rivers—she cornered me and asked me really loudly and I panicked and said yes. Shut up. I would've much rather gone with you._

_Rose, obviously, had an amazing time with Scorpius. Don't tell anyone (especially not the older guys), but she disappeared for the last half hour of the ball—probably to snog him. She would've written you about it, but we all decided that only one of us would send you a letter. Again, we're worried for you._

_About Spook, they've gotten closer to getting to him. They actually made a suspect list, and they're saving Spook for later. Right now they've dueled three people from the list, and they've vetted them as well—they're really, really good at this—it looks like none of them could've done it and they all have alibis._

_We can't wait to hear from you. I hope we do before we get home for the holidays. Obviously, we're going to come and see you right away. Surprisingly, there's been no mention of you in the _Prophet_, it's all just news on that one crazy rallying radical wizard. Remember the one who was talking about Muggles and wizards living in peace?_

_Anyway, please write back soon._

_Al_

Happily, Melanie wrote him a quick response.

_Al,_

_I'm doing fine. Everything sounds awesome. I'm going to wait until I see you in person to properly take the mickey out of you for going out with Alex Rivers._

_Don't worry. Rose's secret is safe with me. And it's weird that you agreed to only send me one letter. Noah sent me one, too._

_Wish them luck for me about Spook!_

_You can come see me now! I'm in Hogsmeade. Hopefully you can get away? If not, I can't wait to see you all at Christmas!_

_Melanie_

There was a tiny, sleepy owl hiding under her desk, and she pulled out gently and tied the paper to its leg before prodding it out the window. It took a few tries for it to become airborne, but it took off and disappeared quickly afterwards.

"Melanie!" called Mrs. Daniels. "Come downstairs! I've made some dinner!"

"Coming!" cried Melanie. She got up from her chair and made towards the door, when a crumpling noise beneath her feet distracted her. There was another letter from someone—someone's very neat, very orderly handwriting she did not recognize.

_Melanie,_

_I'm sorry I'm sending you this when we agreed to send you only one letter. I hope this doesn't stress you too much._

_I just had to tell you about my nagging worries about the _Daily Prophet_. Lately, it's been littered with articles about the radical wizard we talked about recently. I know I got quite upset about it then, and I am certainly bothered by it now. _

_You see, he seems quite serious about integrating Muggles into Wizarding society. Melanie, these articles are making it seem like he's just a raving lunatic we should keep an eye out for, but I think it's something much more sinister. _

_He's in hiding, obviously, and even though the _Prophet_ says he's just hiding from authorities, I think he's planning something. There have been disappearances, you see. Muggle disappearances that nobody seems to be thinking about. I've been following them, though, and the people are alone—they have no families, and they always seem to disappear out of where the radical is believed to be hiding._

_The others might call me paranoid, but I believe he's making you an example, Melanie. I'm telling you this so that you can be informed and be on your guard, just in case. _

_Please get well._

_Yours,_

_Eden Bones_

Eden? With a bemused expression, Melanie scanned the letter once more. Why would Eden be so worried about these vague hints in the _Daily Prophet_ that she'd send Melanie such a panicked letter about it?

She tossed the parchment carelessly onto her bed. The others were right in her book; Eden seemed to be a little paranoid. There wasn't a return owl—clearly, the message had been meant to be simply informative rather than a conversation.

"Melanie!" Mrs. Daniels called again.

"Coming, Mum!"

She hurried down the stairs towards the mouth-watering smell of steak and mashed potatoes, a meal that took her back to her days as a Muggle. Thoughts of her father punctured her calm once more, as they had been doing more and more frequently what with the excitement of becoming a witch and beginning Hogwarts fading. With difficulty, she pushed them away impatiently. Would she ever forget?

* * *

The next morning, Melanie and her mother were sitting quietly at the kitchen table munching on toast and eggs. Because Hogsmeade was a Wizarding village, Mrs. Daniels had had to sacrifice regular, electrical appliances when she moved. Despite Melanie's profuse apologies and insistence that she move back to a Muggle town, she had made do; Mr. Evengle had bewitched the magical kitchen appliances to work almost like Muggle ones. Unfortunately, Mrs. Daniels hadn't quite gotten the hang of the magic's enthusiasm for doing work itself yet, so the toast and eggs were slightly overdone.

A knock on the door startled Melanie; she had thought nobody knew they lived here, but the elated look on her mother's face hammered the unpleasant image of Dennis Creevey back into her mind.

"I'll get it," Mrs. Daniels said, jumping from her seat.

Scowling, Melanie stabbed her meatloaf with her fork angrily. She was dreading the conversation that was surely coming, the one where her mother would insist that Dennis was a great guy, that he deserved a chance, and could she please, please give him one? After all, hadn't he kept her hospital situation from reaching the papers?

Through this whole discussion, Melanie knew she would merely sit and nod silently, allowing her mother's pleas to soar hopelessly over her head. She did not want to give Dennis Creevey a chance. It didn't matter how wonderful he was. No amount of wonderfulness could chance the fact that he could never replace her father. She resented him for trying. She resented him for getting her mother to try. But most of all, she resented him for forcing her to think of her father, for opening the wounds his death had left.

"Oh hello," said Mrs. Daniels from the doorway, sounding surprised.

"Hi, Mrs. Daniels," a nervous voice responded. "Is Melanie in?"

At the familiar voice, Melanie threw down her fork and hurtled into the hall, grinning broadly. "AL!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

"Whoa, Melanie," he laughed, pushing her away. "Aren't you supposed to, like, not overexert yourself?"

"Shut up," she said, shoving him, but smiling nonetheless. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit, like you said," he replied, smiling back.

"Are you serious?" she said excitedly. "Well, where's everyone else?"

She didn't notice Al's face fall slightly, because he threw on a chipper expression once again and replied with a shrug, "No one else came. Everyone was really busy, I guess."

"Hmm," said Melanie, pursing her lips. "That's odd. I was expecting Noah."

"Noah?" Al repeated, his voice taking on a cooler edge. "Why would you expect him?"

"Oh, he said he wanted to meet me." She shrugged.

At this, Al looked genuinely surprised. "Meet you? Why?"

"I dunno…oh!" she cried suddenly as her mother nudged her in the ribs. "This is my mum!"

"Hi," said Al, smiling at her. "I'm Albus Potter."

"It's lovely to meet you, Albus," said Mrs. Daniels, returning his smile and offering her hand. "Are you in Melanie's year at school?"

"Yeah, I am," he answered, shaking her hand.

"That's great! I must say, I was worried about her making friends, but it seems she's got plenty now!" she said cheerfully.

"Mum…" groaned Melanie. She made her sound like such a dweeb.

"You're coming for Christmas, aren't you?" asked Al eagerly. "You'll meet all of us there!"

"Yes…with the Weasley family, right?" Mrs. Daniels sounded slightly nervous. "I'm looking forward to it."

"You should!" he encouraged. "It's definitely something to look forward to. And don't worry, you won't be alone. Lots of families come, and everyone's really friendly."

Mrs. Daniels looked slightly more relieved at this, and said, "That's lovely. Well, I'll leave you two alone…" and sauntered back into the kitchen.

"Come upstairs," said Melanie eagerly, taking the steps two at a time. She was beyond excited to have a friend here. As they settled into her bedroom and she sank into her bed, Al settling into her chair, she asked, "Why didn't Rose come?"

To her surprise, Al snorted.

"What?" she said, looking up.

"Why do you think she didn't come?" he asked, looking amused.

"I dunno…"

"Think about it," he said. "It's new, handsome, and blonde."

"OH!" she exclaimed. "_Really_?She's spending _that_ much time with that Malfoy guy?"

Al laughed. "You have no idea how much time she's spending with him."

Shocked and excited for her friend, Melanie returned to her position, staring up at the ceiling. "Whatever happened with her dad and the whole situation?"

Al was silent for several moments, and then he said hesitantly, "It's…been put on hold."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she hasn't really told him they're—dating. She only told him that they were friends. He thinks they only went to the ball together as friends." Melanie could tell Albus felt extremely nervous about this.

"Oh…I see."

Most of the time, Melanie felt very comfortable amidst her new friends, but there were moments like this one when she felt completely out of the loop. She simply could not understand what was so serious about Rose dating some boy. He seemed nice enough, and it was clear that she really, _really_ liked him, so there didn't seem to be a reason

"So," she said, a mischievous smirk spreading over her face, "Alex Rivers."

Al turned scarlet. "Shut up," he muttered.

"_How_, pray tell, did this happen?" she said, still grinning.

He shot her a dirty look before saying quietly, "She cornered me."

"Cornered you, did she?" she teased. "Dominating, was she? Tell me, Al, did you like having the woman in power?"

"Shut up!" he said again, but he was laughing as he hit her with the fluffy pillow on her bed.

With a shriek, Melanie threw her hands up to cover her face. "ALBUS!" she cried, amused. "You know I'm not supposed to overexert myself!"

He glared at her, though playfully.

"I'd have much rather gone with Fatima Thomas," he said. "She went alone. Sad, actually, because I would've asked her if it hadn't been for Alex."

Surprised, Melanie glanced at him. "Really? You-you would've?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Rose has been hanging out with her, so I'm sort of getting to know her a bit. She's really nice. And quite pretty," he added.

"Hmm," said Melanie. There was an odd feeling creeping through her stomach. "So no one asked her?"

Shrugging, he said, "I guess not."

Somehow, this news did not displease her.

"So have you talked to Noah lately?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No, I haven't," he said. "You said you got a letter from him?"

"Yeah I did," she said, nodding. "He said he wanted to talk about something. Sounded nervous about it, too."

"That's strange," said Al, pondering the thought. "I wonder what it could be."

"Yeah, I mean, doesn't he have other people to talk to?" she asked. "Like, I know I'm supposed to be the only girl friend he has, but he can talk to the guys about it, can't he?"

Slowly, Al shook his head. "I dunno, Melanie. He never gets all 'I need to talk about something.' Noah's always maintained that feelsy talks are for girls. So, if he wants to talk, it's probably something big."

Frowning, she asked, "Why doesn't he talk to Roxanne? Isn't he best friends with her?"

"Honestly, I can't say," said Al. "It's making as much sense to me as it is to you, and I've known him forever."

With a sigh, she nodded in defeat. It appeared that she would have to wait until the Christmas gathering to find out what Noah had been so anxious to discuss. Just one more reason she couldn't wait for Christmas at the Weasleys.

* * *

**A/N:** The next chapter will definitely feature Christmas at the Weasleys. I'm super excited for it, because it goes into detail with all the characters in the now GIANT Weasley family, who are all my favorites. There will definitely be more on Rose and Scorpius, and I think I have decided who I am going to pair Melanie with. Also, the external conflict is brewing and slowly progressing, but will soon enough speed up and go out of control!

Please review! Leave me your thoughts and/or what you'd like to see coming up!

~Maya


End file.
